CpanelApplication

CVE-2017-18449

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 56.0.49 / 58.0.49 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 64.0.21 allows certain file-rename operations in the context of the root account via scripts/convert_roundcube_mysql2sqlite (SEC-254).

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

The vulnerability allows file-rename operations with root privileges through the convert_roundcube_mysql2sqlite script in cPanel versions before 64.0.21. This could enable a local attacker to manipulate files with root-level permissions, potentially leading to privilege escalation or unauthorized file system changes.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 64.0.21 or later to patch the vulnerable conversion script.

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:>= 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, < 64.0.21

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed cPanel version
    Run '/usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V' or 'cat /usr/local/cpanel/version' to retrieve the installed cPanel version number
    Affected if The 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
  2. Locate the convert_roundcube_mysql2sqlite script
    Search for the script using 'find /usr/local/cpanel -name '*convert_roundcube_mysql2sqlite*' 2>/dev/null'
    Affected if The script exists in the cPanel installation directory, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  3. Check script permissions and ownership
    Run 'ls -la' on the found script path to inspect owner, group, and permission bits
    Affected if The script is owned by root and has world-readable or world-executable permissions, allowing unprivileged access to root-privilege operations

If the cPanel version is below 64.0.21 and the convert_roundcube_mysql2sqlite script exists on the system, the environment is vulnerable to privilege escalation via unauthorized file-rename operations.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 56.0.49 / 58.0.49 / 60.0.43 or later
Fixed in 56.0.4958.0.4960.0.43
Interim mitigation

Upgrade cPanel to version 64.0.21 or later to patch the vulnerable conversion script.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

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 locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-18449 — 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-2017-18449 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