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CpanelApplication

CVE-2018-20914

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 70.0.23 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable

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
In cPanel before 70.0.23, OpenID providers can inject arbitrary data into cPanel session files (SEC-368).

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 vulnerability in cPanel versions before 70.0.23 allows malicious or compromised OpenID providers to inject arbitrary data into cPanel session files. This could potentially allow attackers to manipulate session data, potentially leading to session hijacking, privilege escalation, or other session-based attacks depending on how the injected data is processed.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 70.0.23 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting or carefully vetting OpenID providers used for authentication until the patch can be applied.

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:< 70.0.23

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/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 checks

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

  1. Verify cPanel installation
    Check if the cPanel directory exists: ls -la /usr/local/cpanel
    Affected if The /usr/local/cpanel directory exists, confirming cPanel is installed on this system
  2. Determine installed cPanel version
    Read the version file: cat /usr/local/cpanel/version
    Affected if The version number returned is less than 70.0.23 (for example, 70.0.22, 70.0.15, or any version in the 68.x or 69.x line)
  3. Confirm OpenID authentication is in use
    Search for OpenID configuration in cPanel user files: grep -r 'openid' /var/cpanel/users/ 2>/dev/null; also check /etc/cpanel/ea4/cpanel.conf for OpenID-related settings
    Affected if OpenID providers are configured or enabled for user authentication in cPanel

Your environment is affected if cPanel is installed with a version earlier than 70.0.23 and OpenID authentication integration is enabled, allowing injection of arbitrary data into session files.

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 70.0.23 or later
Fixed in 70.0.23
Interim mitigation

Upgrade cPanel to version 70.0.23 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting or carefully vetting OpenID providers used for authentication until the patch can be applied.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

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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-2018-20914 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