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CpanelApplication

CVE-2018-20901

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 71.9980.37 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 71.9980.37 allows Remote-Stored XSS in WHM Save Theme Interface (SEC-400).

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

This is a stored (persistent) cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in cPanel's WHM (Web Host Manager) Save Theme Interface. Attackers can inject malicious JavaScript code through the theme save functionality, which gets stored on the server and executed when other users access the affected interface. The vulnerability affects cPanel versions before 71.9980.37.

MitigationUpdate cPanel to version 71.9980.37 or later to patch the XSS vulnerability in the WHM Save Theme Interface. As this is a stored XSS, also review and sanitize any previously saved theme configurations for malicious content.

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:< 71.9980.37

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check your cPanel version
    Log into WHM and navigate to Server Status > cPanel Version, or run 'whmapi1 get_cpanel_version' via command line
    Affected if The displayed version is below 71.9980.37
  2. Verify WHM access is enabled
    Confirm that Web Host Manager (WHM) is installed and accessible on your server
    Affected if WHM is installed and reachable (the vulnerable interface exists in WHM)
  3. Confirm Save Theme Interface presence
    In WHM, navigate to the theme configuration area (typically under Account Functions or Theme selection) and locate the Save Theme functionality
    Affected if The Save Theme interface is present and configurable

You are affected if your cPanel version is below 71.9980.37 and WHM with the Save Theme Interface is accessible on your server.

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 71.9980.37 or later
Fixed in 71.9980.37
Interim mitigation

Update cPanel to version 71.9980.37 or later to patch the XSS vulnerability in the WHM Save Theme Interface. As this is a stored XSS, also review and sanitize any previously saved theme configurations for malicious content.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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-2018-20901 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