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CpanelApplication

CVE-2018-20917

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 70.0.23 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 any user to disable Solr (SEC-371).

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

cPanel before version 70.0.23 contains an authorization flaw where any authenticated user can disable the Apache Solr search service, regardless of their privilege level. This is a privilege escalation/authorization vulnerability in the cPanel management interface.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 70.0.23 or later to patch the authorization bypass. Verify Solr functionality after the upgrade.

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check if cPanel is installed
    Verify cPanel is present on the system by checking for the cPanel directory structure at /usr/local/cpanel or by running: ls -la /usr/local/cpanel
    Affected if cPanel must be installed for this vulnerability to apply
  2. Determine installed cPanel version
    Run the command: cat /usr/local/cpanel/version or rpm -q cpanel or use the cPanel API: whmapi1 version
    Affected if Unable to determine the cPanel version for comparison
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Parse the version output and compare it numerically to 70.0.23. Versions are compared as (major * 10000) + (minor * 100) + patch. For example, 70.0.22 = 7000022 and 70.0.23 = 7000023
    Affected if The installed version is less than 70.0.23 (e.g., 70.0.22, 68.x.x, etc.)
  4. Verify Apache Solr service status (optional context)
    If cPanel is vulnerable, check if Apache Solr is enabled by examining: /var/cpanel/service Solr or querying WHM API: whmapi1 service status service=solr
    Affected if Apache Solr is enabled and could be disabled by any privileged user

The environment is affected if cPanel is installed and the installed version is numerically less than 70.0.23, allowing any authenticated user to disable the Apache Solr service regardless of their privilege level.

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 patch the authorization bypass. Verify Solr functionality after the upgrade.

Fix this in Cpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.

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-2018-20917 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