CVE-2020-15420
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of CentOS Web Panel cwp-el7-0.9.8.891. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within loader_ajax.php. When parsing the line parameter, the process does not properly validate a user-supplied string before using it to execute a system call. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-9259.
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 confidenceA command injection vulnerability in CentOS Web Panel's loader_ajax.php allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands as root via a specially crafted 'line' parameter that is passed to a system call without proper input validation or sanitization.
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= 0.9.8.891CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm CentOS Web Panel installationLook for CentOS Web Panel directories, typically installed at /usr/local/cwp or /var/www/html/cwp, and check for cwp service files in /etc/init.d/Affected if CentOS Web Panel software is present on the server
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Determine installed versionCheck /usr/local/cwp/version or /usr/local/cwp/cwpversion files, or access the admin interface and look for the version displayed in the footer or about sectionAffected if The installed version matches 0.9.8.891
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Locate vulnerable scriptCheck for the presence of loader_ajax.php in the CentOS Web Panel web root, typically found in /usr/local/cwp/html/admin/fileManager/ or /var/www/html/cwp/admin/fileManager/Affected if loader_ajax.php exists in the CentOS Web Panel installation directory
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Verify parameter handling existsExamine the loader_ajax.php file for the 'line' parameter usage in system calls, looking for exec, shell_exec, passthru, or similar PHP functions that execute OS commandsAffected if The 'line' parameter is processed and passed to a PHP system execution function without sanitization
The environment is affected if CentOS Web Panel version 0.9.8.891 is installed and the vulnerable loader_ajax.php script with unsanitized 'line' parameter handling is present.
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 dataApply vendor patches or upgrade to a patched version of CentOS Web Panel; implement strict input validation on all user-supplied parameters before use in system calls.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15420 — 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-2020-15420 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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