CVE-2018-20881
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 74.0.8 allows self stored XSS on the Security Questions login page (SEC-446).
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 74.0.8 contains a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Security Questions login page. An attacker with access to the login page can inject malicious JavaScript that gets stored and executes when users view the security questions, though this self-XSS variant primarily affects the attacker's own session.
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< 74.0.8CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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 cPanel versionAccess the cPanel login page or WHM interface and locate the version number typically displayed in the footer or in the WHM 'Server Status' section. Alternatively, run 'whmapi1 version' via command line if you have root access.Affected if The displayed version is less than 74.0.8 (e.g., 74.0.7, 73.x, 72.x, etc.)
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Verify Security Questions feature is accessibleNavigate to the cPanel login page and confirm the Security Questions option is available. This is typically found on the login page where users can set or answer security questions instead of using a password.Affected if The Security Questions login page is accessible and available for use on the cPanel installation
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Confirm vulnerable version rangeCross-reference the installed version with the affected range: versions prior to 74.0.8 are vulnerable. The specific vulnerability (SEC-446) was addressed in the 74.0.8 release.Affected if The installed cPanel version is any release before 74.0.8
You are affected if your cPanel version is below 74.0.8 and the Security Questions login feature is enabled on your server.
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 data74.0.8
Update cPanel to version 74.0.8 or later to receive the patch for SEC-446. Until updated, avoid entering sensitive data on the Security Questions login page.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20881 — 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-2018-20881 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data