CVE-2018-20952
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 68.0.27 creates world-readable files during use of WHM Apache Includes Editor (SEC-388).
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 confidencecPanel before version 68.0.27 creates files with world-readable permissions when using the WHM Apache Includes Editor, allowing any local user on the system to read potentially sensitive Apache configuration include files.
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>= 61.9999.55, < 62.0.39>= 65.9999.38, < 66.0.35>= 67.9999.64, < 68.0.27CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 installed cPanel versionRun 'whmapi1 version' or check /usr/local/cpanel/version to determine the current cPanel buildAffected if The version falls within any of these ranges: 61.9999.55 to 62.0.38, 65.9999.38 to 66.0.34, or 67.9999.64 to 68.0.26 (versions before 68.0.27)
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Locate Apache include files from WHM editorCheck for include files in /usr/local/apache/conf/include/ directory or custom include paths configured in WHM under Apache Configuration > Include EditorAffected if Any custom Apache configuration include files exist in the system, particularly those created via WHM > Apache Configuration > Include Editor
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Inspect file permissions on include filesRun 'ls -la /usr/local/apache/conf/include/' or check the specific directory where custom includes were added. Look for files with permissions set to 0644 (rw-r--r--) or similar that grant world-readable accessAffected if Files show world-readable permissions (e.g., '-rw-r--r--' or permissions ending in '4' for others) rather than restricted permissions like 0640 or 0600
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Verify file ownership and group accessUse 'stat' or 'ls -la' to confirm whether files are readable by any local user on the system beyond the owner and groupAffected if Files are readable by 'other' users (the 'r--' at the end of permission bits), which allows any local user account to read the file contents
The environment is affected if running cPanel before version 68.0.27 and Apache include files created via the WHM Include Editor have world-readable (644 or looser) permissions, exposing potentially sensitive configuration data to all local users.
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 data62.0.3966.0.3568.0.27
Upgrade cPanel to version 68.0.27 or later to receive the patch, or manually restrict permissions on files created by the Apache Includes Editor to remove world-read access.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20952 — 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-2018-20952 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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- 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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