CVE-2016-10781
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedcPanel before 60.0.25 allows self XSS in the UI_confirm API (SEC-180).
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceSelf XSS vulnerability in cPanel's UI_confirm API allows attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through the API that executes in the context of the authenticated user's session. The vulnerability exists in cPanel versions prior to 60.0.25 due to insufficient input sanitization.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 11.54.0.0, < 11.54.0.33>= 55.9999.61, < 56.0.39>= 57.9999.48, < 58.0.37>= 59.9999.58, < 60.0.25CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed cPanel versionRun the command 'whmapi1 version' or check /usr/local/cpanel/version'Affected if The version number returned falls within any of these ranges: 11.54.0.0 to 11.54.0.32, 55.9999.61 to 56.0.38, 57.9999.48 to 58.0.36, or 59.9999.58 to 60.0.24
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Verify UI_confirm API endpoint accessibilityCheck if the /cpanelwebcall/ endpoint or UI_confirm API is exposed. This can be confirmed by reviewing API access logs in /usr/local/cpanel/logs/ for requests to endpoints containing 'confirm' in the path.Affected if The API endpoint is accessible and the cPanel version is within the affected ranges listed above
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Review API request logs for injection attemptsSearch cPanel access logs for unusual patterns in UI_confirm API calls. Look for logs containing script tags or JavaScript event handlers in parameters passed to confirmation interfaces.Affected if Suspicious payloads containing <script> tags or javascript: URIs are found in API logs for the UI_confirm endpoint
You are affected if your cPanel version is 11.54.0.0 through 11.54.0.32, 55.9999.61 through 56.0.38, 57.9999.48 through 58.0.36, or 59.9999.58 through 60.0.24 and the UI_confirm API endpoint is accessible in your environment.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data11.54.0.3356.0.3958.0.37
Update cPanel to version 60.0.25 or later to obtain the patch for this vulnerability. As a self XSS, user interaction (social engineering) is required for exploitation, so user education on not clicking suspicious links can serve as a supplemental defense.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10781 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-10781 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data