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WebpanelApplication · Control Webpanel

CVE-2020-15612

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_ftp_manager.php. When parsing the userLogin 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-9737.

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_ftp_manager.php where the userLogin parameter is not validated before being passed to a system call. An unauthenticated remote attacker can execute arbitrary code as root by injecting shell commands through this parameter.

MitigationSanitize and validate the userLogin parameter using whitelist approaches or parameterized methods before using it in any system call. Consider implementing role-based access controls and restricting the privileges of web-facing processes.

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. Verify CentOS Web Panel is installed
    Check for the presence of CWP by looking for /usr/local/cwpsrv/ or the admin panel login page at port 2030 or 2086
    Affected if CWP is not installed on the system
  2. Confirm the CWP version
    Check the version file typically located at /usr/local/cwpsrv/version or access the admin panel and look for version information in the footer or about section
    Affected if The installed version matches 0.9.8.923 exactly
  3. Locate the vulnerable ajax_ftp_manager.php file
    Check for the file at /usr/local/cwpsrv/htdocs/ajax_ftp_manager.php or search for it using: find /usr/local/cwpsrv -name 'ajax_ftp_manager.php'
    Affected if The file exists in the expected location (CWP 0.9.8.923 contains this vulnerable file)
  4. Verify the FTP manager module is accessible
    Check if the file is web-accessible by testing a request to the ajax_ftp_manager.php endpoint or verifying it is not removed/restricted in the web server configuration
    Affected if The ajax_ftp_manager.php is accessible via HTTP/HTTPS without authentication

The system is affected if CentOS Web Panel version 0.9.8.923 is installed and the ajax_ftp_manager.php file is present and accessible, since the unauthenticated userLogin parameter can be exploited for command injection.

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

Sanitize and validate the userLogin parameter using whitelist approaches or parameterized methods before using it in any system call. Consider implementing role-based access controls and restricting the privileges of web-facing processes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest CWP version (check vendor for version number containing security fix)

  1. 1. Check the current CentOS Web Panel version by logging into the panel or running: cat /usr/local/cwpsrv/version
  2. 2. Navigate to the CWP admin panel and check for available updates under the 'Updates' or 'Settings' section
  3. 3. If an update is available, apply it through the panel's built-in update mechanism
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest CWP version from the official repository: wget http://centos-webpanel.com/cwp-latest
  5. 5. Run the update script: sh cwp-latest
  6. 6. After update, verify the new version does not include the vulnerable ajax_ftp_manager.php or has the command injection patched
  7. 7. If no update is available from vendor, consider restricting access to the ajax_ftp_manager.php file via web server configuration (e.g., .htaccess or nginx location blocks) to block external access
Caveat CWP updates may modify configuration files; backup /usr/local/cwpsrv/conf/ and /etc/csf/ before updating

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2020-15612 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