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CpanelApplication

CVE-2020-10122

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 78.0.45 / 84.0.20 or later.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 84.0.20 allows a webmail or demo account to delete arbitrary files (SEC-547).

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

cPanel before version 84.0.20 contains an improper authorization vulnerability in its webmail and demo account functionality. Authenticated webmail or demo users can exploit insufficient access controls to perform path traversal and delete arbitrary files on the hosting server outside their designated directories.

MitigationUpgrade cPanel to version 84.0.20 or later to obtain the security fix. Verify that webmail and demo account permissions are properly scoped following 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:>= 77.9999.110, < 78.0.45>= 83.9999.115, < 84.0.20

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

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. Determine installed cPanel version
    Log in to WHM (Web Host Manager) and check the cPanel version displayed on the home page, or run the command: /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V
    Affected if The version number falls within 77.9999.110 to 78.0.44 (inclusive) OR 83.9999.115 to 84.0.19 (inclusive)
  2. Verify webmail functionality status
    Check if webmail services are enabled on the server through WHM under 'Service Configuration' > 'Service Manager' or by attempting to access webmail at /webmail on the server
    Affected if Webmail is enabled and accessible to users on the server
  3. Verify demo account status
    Check if demo accounts are enabled in cPanel through WHM under 'Account Functions' > 'Create a New Account' > 'Demo' or check /var/cpanel/demo-mode file
    Affected if Demo accounts are enabled on the server

A server is affected if it runs a cPanel version in the vulnerable ranges AND has webmail or demo account functionality enabled, allowing authenticated users to potentially perform path traversal outside their designated directories.

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 78.0.45 / 84.0.20 or later
Fixed in 78.0.4584.0.20
Interim mitigation

Upgrade cPanel to version 84.0.20 or later to obtain the security fix. Verify that webmail and demo account permissions are properly scoped following the upgrade.

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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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2020-10122 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