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WebpanelApplication · Control Webpanel

CVE-2020-15433

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
This 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_php_pecl.php. When parsing the phpversion 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-9715.

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

CentOS Web Panel contains a command injection vulnerability in ajax_php_pecl.php where the phpversion parameter is not properly validated before being used in a system call. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with root privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patch immediately if available. As an interim measure, restrict network access to CentOS Web Panel admin interfaces from untrusted sources until the vulnerability can be remediated.

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
WebpanelApplication
Affected:= 0.9.8.923

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm CentOS Web Panel installation
    Check for the presence of CWP by looking for /usr/local/cwpsrv/ directory or by attempting to access the web panel login page on port 2086 or 2087.
    Affected if CentOS Web Panel is installed and accessible on the system.
  2. Verify the exact CWP version
    Access the CWP version information typically found at /usr/local/cwpsrv/version or check the admin interface for version details, or run: cat /usr/local/cwpsrv/version
    Affected if The installed version matches 0.9.8.923 exactly.
  3. Check for the vulnerable ajax_php_pecl.php file
    Locate the file at /usr/local/cwpsrv/htdocs/ajax_php_pecl.php or within the CWP web root directory. Use: find /usr/local/cwpsrv -name 'ajax_php_pecl.php' 2>/dev/null
    Affected if The file ajax_php_pecl.php exists in the CWP installation.
  4. Determine network exposure of CWP admin interface
    Check if ports 2086 (HTTP) or 2087 (HTTPS) are listening on public network interfaces. Use: netstat -tlnp | grep -E ':(2086|2087)' or nmap -p 2086,2087 <external-ip>
    Affected if The CWP admin interface is exposed to unauthenticated network access from untrusted sources.

You are affected if CentOS Web Panel version 0.9.8.923 is installed, the ajax_php_pecl.php file exists, and the admin interface is network-accessible to untrusted users (the vulnerability can be exploited without authentication).

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch immediately if available. As an interim measure, restrict network access to CentOS Web Panel admin interfaces from untrusted sources until the vulnerability can be remediated.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest CWP version (post 0.9.8.923) - check centos-webpanel.com for current stable release

  1. Check current CentOS Web Panel version in the admin interface (left sidebar or at login)
  2. Update CWP to the latest stable release using the built-in update feature: cwp.update or via the admin panel
  3. Alternatively, run: curl -s http://centos-webpanel.com/installer-latest.sh | sh
  4. After update, verify the ajax_php_pecl.php file has been patched or replaced with a secure version
  5. Restart CWP services: systemctl restart cwpsrv
Caveat CWP updates may require recreation of some Apache/Nginx configs or DNS settings; backup before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Webpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,380
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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-2020-15433 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