diff --git a/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-gd.php b/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-gd.php
index dfa90545f6..138c48fad3 100644
--- a/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-gd.php
+++ b/wp-includes/class-wp-image-editor-gd.php
@@ -103,20 +103,13 @@ class WP_Image_Editor_GD extends WP_Image_Editor {
 			return new WP_Error( 'error_loading_image', __( 'File does not exist?' ), $this->file );
 		}
 
-		// WebP may not work with imagecreatefromstring().
+		// Handle WebP and AVIF mime types explicitly, falling back to imagecreatefromstring.
 		if (
-			function_exists( 'imagecreatefromwebp' ) &&
-			( 'image/webp' === wp_get_image_mime( $this->file ) )
+			function_exists( 'imagecreatefromwebp' ) && ( 'image/webp' === wp_get_image_mime( $this->file ) )
 		) {
 			$this->image = @imagecreatefromwebp( $this->file );
-		} else {
-			$this->image = @imagecreatefromstring( $file_contents );
-		}
-
-		// AVIF may not work with imagecreatefromstring().
-		if (
-			function_exists( 'imagecreatefromavif' ) &&
-			( 'image/avif' === wp_get_image_mime( $this->file ) )
+		} elseif (
+			function_exists( 'imagecreatefromavif' ) && ( 'image/avif' === wp_get_image_mime( $this->file ) )
 		) {
 			$this->image = @imagecreatefromavif( $this->file );
 		} else {
diff --git a/wp-includes/version.php b/wp-includes/version.php
index c72776710f..7e518a5da5 100644
--- a/wp-includes/version.php
+++ b/wp-includes/version.php
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  *
  * @global string $wp_version
  */
-$wp_version = '6.7.1-alpha-59421';
+$wp_version = '6.7.1-alpha-59423';
 
 /**
  * Holds the WordPress DB revision, increments when changes are made to the WordPress DB schema.