dbcve.org
CpanelApplication

CVE-2018-20915

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 70.0.23 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
cPanel before 70.0.23 allows stored XSS via a WHM Edit DNS Zone action (SEC-369).

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 · moderate confidence

A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in cPanel versions prior to 70.0.23 within the WHM (Web Host Manager) Edit DNS Zone functionality. Attackers with access to WHM could inject malicious scripts into DNS zone records that would execute when other users view the affected DNS zone data.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 70.0.23 or later to resolve the vulnerability. Limit WHM access to trusted administrators only until the patch is 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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm cPanel installation
    Check for cPanel by looking for /usr/local/cpanel or running 'whmapi1 version' command
    Affected if cPanel is not installed then this CVE does not apply
  2. Check installed cPanel version
    Run 'cat /usr/local/cpanel/version' or use WHM API: 'whmapi1 version' to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if Version number is less than 70.0.23 - compare your version to the affected range (< 70.0.23)
  3. Verify WHM access exists
    Check if WHM interface is accessible by accessing port 2087 or verifying reseller/root admin accounts exist via 'whmapi1 listresellers' or 'cat /var/cpanel/resellers'
    Affected if WHM is accessible to untrusted users - the vulnerability requires an attacker with WHM access to inject the XSS
  4. Check for managed DNS zones
    List DNS zones via 'whmapi1 listzones' or check /var/named for .zone files
    Affected if DNS zones exist and can be edited - the Edit DNS Zone feature must be available for the vulnerability to be triggered

You are affected if cPanel is installed with a version below 70.0.23, WHM is accessible to the attacker, and DNS zones can be edited through the Edit DNS Zone functionality.

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 to resolve the vulnerability. Limit WHM access to trusted administrators only until the patch is applied.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20915 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2018-20915 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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