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WebpanelApplication · Control Webpanel

CVE-2020-15608

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_dashboard.php. When parsing the ai_service 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-9724.

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

A command injection vulnerability exists in CentOS Web Panel's ajax_dashboard.php where the ai_service parameter is not properly validated before being used in a system call. An unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary shell commands that execute with root privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patch to sanitize/validate the ai_service parameter input in ajax_dashboard.php, preferably using a whitelist approach or avoiding shell execution entirely.

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. Identify if CentOS Web Panel is installed
    Check for the presence of CWP directories or look for 'CentOS Web Panel' in system information. Common paths: /usr/local/cwpsrv/, /var/www/html/cwpsrv/
    Affected if CentOS Web Panel software is present on the server
  2. Determine the installed CWP version
    Check the version file typically located at /usr/local/cwpsrv/VERSION or look for version info in the CWP admin interface login page
    Affected if The installed version is 0.9.8.923
  3. Locate the vulnerable ajax_dashboard.php file
    Search for the file at /var/www/html/ajax_dashboard.php or /usr/local/cwpsrv/htdocs/ajax_dashboard.php using: find / -name ajax_dashboard.php 2>/dev/null
    Affected if The ajax_dashboard.php file exists in the web root and is accessible via HTTP
  4. Check if the ai_service parameter is processed unsafely
    Examine the ajax_dashboard.php source code for the ai_service parameter handling. Look for system(), exec(), shell_exec(), or similar functions using the parameter without sanitization: grep -n 'ai_service' /path/to/ajax_dashboard.php
    Affected if The code passes the ai_service parameter directly to a shell execution function without input validation or sanitization
  5. Verify unauthenticated access to the vulnerable endpoint
    Test HTTP access to ajax_dashboard.php without authentication. The vulnerability is exploitable by unauthenticated requests
    Affected if The ajax_dashboard.php endpoint is accessible without authentication

A system is affected if CentOS Web Panel version 0.9.8.923 is installed and the ajax_dashboard.php file with the vulnerable ai_service parameter handling is accessible.

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 to sanitize/validate the ai_service parameter input in ajax_dashboard.php, preferably using a whitelist approach or avoiding shell execution entirely.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable CentOS Web Panel release (version > 0.9.8.923)

  1. Contact CentOS Web Panel official support or visit their download page to obtain the latest version of CWP
  2. Verify the current installed version using: cwp version or cat /usr/local/cwpsrv/version.info
  3. Upgrade to the latest stable CWP release following official upgrade instructions
  4. After upgrade, verify the ajax_dashboard.php file has been updated and the ai_service parameter is now properly sanitized
  5. Restart CWP services: systemctl restart cwpsrv
Caveat Check CWP release notes for any breaking changes between versions before upgrading, and ensure backups of configurations are taken

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

Fix this in Webpanel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2020-15608 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