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CpanelApplication

CVE-2018-20882

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 70.0.57 / 74.0.8 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 74.0.8 allows arbitrary file-write operations in the context of the root account during WHM Force Password Change (SEC-447).

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 before version 74.0.8 contains a vulnerability in the WHM Force Password Change feature that allows arbitrary file-write operations with root account privileges. An attacker with access to the WHM interface could potentially write files to arbitrary locations on the filesystem, leading to complete system compromise.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 74.0.8 or later to address the arbitrary file-write vulnerability in the WHM Force Password Change feature.

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:>= 69.9999.122, < 70.0.57>= 73.9980.0, < 74.0.8

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/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. Identify cPanel version
    Run command: /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V or check /usr/local/cpanel/version
    Affected if The version output matches the affected ranges: 69.9999.122 through 70.0.57, or 73.9980.0 through 74.0.8
  2. Verify WHM installation status
    Confirm WHM (Web Host Manager) is installed by checking for /usr/local/cpanel/whostmgr/docroot/ or try accessing WHM at port 2086/2087
    Affected if WHM is present and accessible on the system
  3. Check if Force Password Change feature exists
    Look for the Force Password Change module in WHM at: WHM > Password Strength > Force Password Change, or check /var/cpanel/features/ for password-related configurations
    Affected if The Force Password Change feature is available in the WHM interface

You are affected if your installed cPanel version falls within 69.9999.122 to 70.0.57 or 73.9980.0 to 74.0.8 AND WHM with the Force Password Change feature is accessible on your system.

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 70.0.57 / 74.0.8 or later
Fixed in 70.0.5774.0.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade cPanel to version 74.0.8 or later to address the arbitrary file-write vulnerability in the WHM Force Password Change feature.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2018-20882 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