CVE-2018-20883
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 FTP access during account suspension (SEC-449).
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 confidenceThis is an authentication bypass vulnerability in cPanel where suspended accounts could still access FTP services. When an account is suspended in cPanel, all services should be terminated, but the FTP daemon was not properly checking account suspension status, allowing suspended users to continue file transfer operations.
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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify cPanel versionCheck the installed cPanel version using the command: grep -i version /usr/local/cpanel/version or access cPanel WHM interface to view version informationAffected if The installed version is lower than 74.0.8 (for example, 74.0.7, 73.x, or earlier)
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Confirm FTP service is runningVerify the FTP daemon is active on the server using: systemctl status ftpd or service proftpd status or service pure-ftpd status depending on FTP server usedAffected if FTP service is running and the cPanel version is below 74.0.8
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Identify suspended accountsList suspended accounts in cPanel via WHM at Account Functions > List Suspended Accounts, or use command: grep -r ':suspended:' /var/cpanel/suspended/ 2>/dev/nullAffected if There are suspended user accounts present on the system
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Test FTP access for suspended accountAttempt to connect to the FTP server using credentials from a suspended cPanel account. Use an FTP client or command: ftp localhost with the suspended account's credentialsAffected if The FTP connection succeeds and allows file transfer operations despite the account being suspended in cPanel
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Verify suspension status enforcementCheck FTP daemon logs (/var/log/proftpd or /var/log/pure-ftpd depending on server) for authentication events involving suspended accountsAffected if FTP authentication logs show successful logins from accounts that appear suspended in cPanel's account management
A system is affected if it runs cPanel version below 74.0.8 and has suspended accounts that can successfully authenticate to FTP services.
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 patch the vulnerability. After updating, verify that suspended accounts cannot access FTP services.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20883 — 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-2018-20883 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
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