CVE-2017-18443
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 64.0.21 allows demo and suspended accounts to use SSH port forwarding (SEC-247).
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 confidencecPanel before version 64.0.21 contains a vulnerability where demo accounts and suspended accounts are incorrectly permitted to use SSH port forwarding (SSH tunneling), allowing these restricted accounts to potentially bypass account restrictions and redirect network traffic through the server.
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>= 55.9999.61, < 56.0.49>= 57.9999.48, < 58.0.49>= 59.9999.58, < 60.0.43>= 61.9999.55, < 62.0.24>= 63.9999.74, < 64.0.21CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/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 the installed cPanel versionRun 'cat /usr/local/cpanel/version' or check WHM >> Server Status >> cPanel Version to determine the exact cPanel version running on the serverAffected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 55.9999.61 to 56.0.49, 57.9999.48 to 58.0.49, 59.9999.58 to 60.0.43, 61.9999.55 to 62.0.24, or 63.9999.74 to 64.0.21
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Determine if demo accounts exist on the serverCheck for accounts with 'demo' in the username by running 'grep -i demo /var/cpanel/users/*' or listing accounts in WHM >> List AccountsAffected if Demo accounts are present and the cPanel version is within the affected ranges
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Determine if suspended accounts exist on the serverRun 'whmapi1 list_suspended_accounts' or check WHM >> List Suspended Accounts to identify any suspended user accountsAffected if Suspended accounts exist and the cPanel version is within the affected ranges
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Verify SSH access is enabled for restricted accountsCheck /etc/shadow for the affected demo or suspended user accounts to confirm they have valid shell access, or review SSH configuration in WHM >> SSH Password Authorization TweakAffected if Demo or suspended accounts have active shell/SSH access and the cPanel version is vulnerable
A server is affected if it runs cPanel version 64.0.21 or earlier AND contains demo accounts or suspended accounts that have SSH access enabled.
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 data56.0.4958.0.4960.0.43
Update cPanel to version 64.0.21 or later to restrict SSH port forwarding access for demo and suspended accounts.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18443 — 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-2017-18443 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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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.
- 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