CVE-2016-10809
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 · uneditedIn cPanel before 57.9999.54, /scripts/checkinfopages exposed a TTY to an unprivileged process (SEC-114).
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 · high confidenceIn cPanel before version 57.9999.54, the /scripts/checkinfopages script exposed a TTY (terminal) to an unprivileged process. This TTY exposure could allow an unprivileged user to interact with a privileged process terminal, potentially enabling privilege escalation or unauthorized access to privileged operations.
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>= 11.50.0.4, < 11.50.6.2>= 11.51.9999.98, < 11.52.6.1>= 11.54.0.0, < 11.54.0.24>= 55.9999.61, < 56.0.15>= 57.9999.48, < 57.9999.54CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Determine the installed cPanel versionRun `whmapi1 version` or check `/usr/local/cpanel/version` to obtain the exact cPanel version stringAffected if The version falls within any of these ranges: 11.50.0.4 to 11.50.6.2, 11.51.9999.98 to 11.52.6.1, 11.54.0.0 to 11.54.0.24, 55.9999.61 to 56.0.15, or 57.9999.48 to 57.9999.54
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Verify the vulnerable script existsCheck if the file /scripts/checkinfopages exists on the system using `ls -la /scripts/checkinfopages`Affected if The file exists and the cPanel version is in an affected range
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Check script permissions for unprivileged accessRun `ls -la /scripts/checkinfopages` and examine the owner, group, and world-readable/executable bitsAffected if The script is readable or executable by non-root users (world-readable or world-executable permissions) and the version is affected
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Verify the script content references TTY handlingUse `grep -i tty /scripts/checkinfopages` or inspect the script to confirm it contains terminal/TTY related operationsAffected if The script contains TTY-related code and the version is in an affected range
If the cPanel version falls within any of the five affected ranges AND the /scripts/checkinfopages script exists with access available to unprivileged users, the environment is vulnerable to TTY exposure.
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 data11.50.6.211.52.6.111.54.0.24
Upgrade cPanel to version 57.9999.54 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Ensure proper testing is performed after the upgrade to verify the TTY exposure is eliminated.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10809 — 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-2016-10809 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
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