CVE-2020-15428
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-e17.0.9.8.923. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within ajax_crons.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-9714.
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 confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in CentOS Web Panel's ajax_crons.php. The 'line' parameter is not validated before being used in a system call, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.
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= 0.9.8.923CVSS 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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Identify if CentOS Web Panel is installedCheck for CWP installation by looking for the control panel service, typically accessible on ports 2030, 2031, or 2086/2087. Look for CWP-related processes or the presence of CWP admin directories.Affected if CentOS Web Panel is installed and running on the system
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Determine the installed CWP versionAccess the CWP admin interface and navigate to the version information page, or check the CWP version file if accessible via command line (e.g., checking /usr/local/cwpsrv/version or similar version indicators). Compare the installed version against 0.9.8.923.Affected if The installed CWP version is exactly 0.9.8.923
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Locate and inspect the ajax_crons.php fileIdentify the web root directory for CWP (typically under /usr/local/cwpsrv/htdocs/) and locate ajax_crons.php. Check for the presence of the 'line' parameter handling in the code without proper sanitization.Affected if The ajax_crons.php file exists and contains vulnerable code handling the 'line' parameter without input validation
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Verify network exposure of the CWP admin interfaceCheck if the CWP admin interface (ports 2030, 2031, 2086/2087) is exposed to unauthenticated network access. Review firewall rules and network configurations.Affected if The CWP admin interface is directly accessible from unauthenticated network locations without proper access controls
The system is affected if CentOS Web Panel version 0.9.8.923 is installed and the ajax_crons.php file with the vulnerable 'line' parameter is exposed to network attackers.
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 dataRestrict network access to the CWP admin interface, implement authentication controls, and apply the vendor patch. Consider deploying WAF rules to detect and block malicious parameter patterns in the interim.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15428 — 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-2020-15428 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
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