CpanelApplication

CVE-2016-10858

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.48.4.8 / 11.50.3.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
cPanel before 11.54.0.0 allows unauthenticated arbitrary code execution via DNS NS entry poisoning (SEC-64).

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 confidence

cPanel versions before 11.54.0.0 contain a critical vulnerability (SEC-64) that allows unauthenticated attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution through DNS NS (nameserver) entry poisoning. This enables complete system compromise without any authentication credentials.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 11.54.0.0 or later. In the interim, implement DNSSEC and carefully monitor DNS records for unauthorized modifications that could facilitate the poisoning attack.

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
CpanelApplication
Affected:>= 11.48.0.5, < 11.48.4.8>= 11.50.0.4, < 11.50.3.1>= 11.51.9999.98, < 11.52.0.23>= 11.52.1.0, < 11.52.1.1

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed cPanel version
    Run the command: /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V or whmapi1 version
    Affected if The version number falls within any of these ranges: 11.48.0.5 to 11.48.4.7, 11.50.0.4 to 11.50.3.0, 11.51.9999.98 to 11.52.0.22, or 11.52.1.0
  2. Verify if the server is configured as a nameserver
    Check the DNS zone configuration files in /var/named/ or run: grep -r 'NS' /var/named/*.db 2>/dev/null
    Affected if The server hosts DNS zones with NS records and the cPanel version is vulnerable
  3. Confirm DNS service is running
    Run: systemctl status named or service named status
    Affected if The BIND/named DNS service is active and the cPanel version is vulnerable

You are affected if your installed cPanel version matches one of the four vulnerable version ranges AND your server is configured as a DNS nameserver with NS records.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.48.4.8 / 11.50.3.1 / 11.52.0.23 or later
Fixed in 11.48.4.811.50.3.111.52.0.23
Interim mitigation

Upgrade cPanel to version 11.54.0.0 or later. In the interim, implement DNSSEC and carefully monitor DNS records for unauthorized modifications that could facilitate the poisoning attack.

Recommended fix High confidence

cPanel version 11.54.0.0 or later (preferably latest stable release)

  1. Identify the current cPanel version using 'whmapi1 version' or checking the cPanel dashboard
  2. Access WHM (Web Host Manager) as root administrator
  3. Navigate to 'cPanel >> Upgrade' or use the automatic update feature
  4. Initiate upgrade to cPanel version 11.54.0.0 or later (recommended: latest stable release)
  5. Allow the upgrade process to complete - this may take several minutes
  6. Verify the new version post-upgrade using 'whmapi1 version'
  7. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by checking that the version is >= 11.54.0.0
Caveat Standard cPanel upgrade - ensure backups are taken and test in staging environment before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-10858 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-10858 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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