CVE-2020-15613
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_admin_apis.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-9739.
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 confidenceUnauthenticated command injection vulnerability in CentOS Web Panel's ajax_admin_apis.php. The 'line' parameter is passed directly to a system call without sanitization, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands as root.
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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Verify CentOS Web Panel installationCheck for CWP installation by looking for /usr/local/cwpsrv/ directory or by querying the package manager: rpm -qa | grep -i centos-web-panel or rpm -qa | grep cwpAffected if CentOS Web Panel is not installed means not affected
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Check installed CWP versionRun: rpm -qa | grep -i cwp or check /usr/local/cwpsrv/VERSION file which typically contains the version numberAffected if Version equals 0.9.8.923 (exact match) - only this specific version is affected
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Verify vulnerable file existsCheck if the file ajax_admin_apis.php exists in the CWP admin directory: ls -la /usr/local/cwpsrv/htdocs/admin/admin/ajax_admin_apis.phpAffected if File exists - vulnerable script is present in the environment
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Check if admin API is network accessibleTest HTTP access to the ajax_admin_apis.php endpoint externally or verify the CWP admin interface is exposed to untrusted networksAffected if The /admin/ajax_admin_apis.php endpoint is accessible from untrusted networks without authentication - exploitation is possible
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Look for indicators of compromiseReview web server access logs for suspicious requests to ajax_admin_apis.php with unusual 'line' parameter values, especially commands like wget, curl, or shell metacharactersAffected if Log entries show requests to ajax_admin_apis.php with encoded commands or shell syntax in the 'line' parameter
The environment is affected only if CentOS Web Panel version 0.9.8.923 is installed AND the ajax_admin_apis.php file is accessible without authentication.
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 dataUpdate CentOS Web Panel to the latest patched version; if immediate update is not possible, block or restrict access to ajax_admin_apis.php via firewall or web server configuration.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15613 — 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-2020-15613 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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