Sanitizing Image Uploads in Laravel: Stopping PHP Payload Injection via Image Files

Short summary

Image files can hide executable PHP payloads in EXIF data while passing Laravel's standard MIME and image validation rules. The laravel-image-sanitize middleware re-encodes uploaded images through Intervention Image to extract only pixel data, stripping embedded code before your controller processes the file. Combine with proper storage isolation for defense-in-depth protection against polyglot payload attacks.

• •JPEG/GIF files can carry hidden PHP payloads in EXIF comments while passing standard validation
• •laravel-image-sanitize middleware re-encodes images to drop embedded code before storage
• •Directly actionable: install via Composer, attach to upload routes, configure patterns

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