CVE-2017-18474
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 62.0.4 allows arbitrary file-read operations via Exim valiases (SEC-201).
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 confidencecPanel before version 62.0.4 contains a path traversal vulnerability in the Exim valiases functionality that allows authenticated attackers to read arbitrary files on the system, potentially exposing sensitive configuration files, credentials, or user data.
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, < 11.54.0.36>= 55.9999.61, < 56.0.43>= 57.9999.48, < 58.0.43>= 59.9999.58, < 60.0.35>= 61.9999.55, < 62.0.4CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Verify cPanel is installedCheck for cPanel by accessing the cPanel login page at /whm or /cpanel, or look for cPanel binaries in /usr/local/cpanelAffected if cPanel is not present on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
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Determine installed cPanel versionRun command: /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V or use WHM API: whmapi1 versionAffected if Unable to determine the version, manual review required
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Compare version against affected rangesCheck if the installed version falls within any of these ranges: 11.54.0.0-11.54.0.35, 55.9999.61-56.0.42, 57.9999.48-58.0.42, 59.9999.58-60.0.34, or 61.9999.55-62.0.3Affected if Version matches any of the affected ranges listed above, the system is potentially vulnerable
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Confirm Exim mail service is runningCheck Exim status via WHM or command: /scripts/restartsrv_exim --statusAffected if Exim is disabled, the attack surface is reduced but the vulnerability still exists in the cPanel interface itself
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Verify cPanel authentication is requiredThis vulnerability requires an authenticated cPanel or WHM session. Check access logs for unusual valiases API calls using path traversal patterns like ../../Affected if Unauthenticated access is not sufficient; attacker needs valid credentials to exploit this flaw
If cPanel is installed and the version falls within any of the listed affected ranges, the system is vulnerable to CVE-2017-18474 and the Exim valiases feature is exploitable by any authenticated user.
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 data11.54.0.3656.0.4358.0.43
Upgrade cPanel to version 62.0.4 or later to patch the vulnerability. This is a patch update rather than a configuration change.
- 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-2017-18474 — 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-2017-18474 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