CVE-2020-26107
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 · uneditedcPanel before 88.0.3, upon an upgrade, establishes predictable PowerDNS API keys (SEC-561).
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 · moderate confidencecPanel before version 88.0.3 establishes predictable PowerDNS API keys during the upgrade process. This predictability in the API key generation mechanism could allow an attacker to potentially discover or brute-force the API keys, leading to unauthorized access to the PowerDNS service.
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< 88.0.3CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check cPanel versionRun 'cat /usr/local/cpanel/version' or check via WHM API: 'whmapi1 version'Affected if The reported version is lower than 88.0.3 (for example, 88.0.0, 86.0.x, or earlier)
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Verify PowerDNS is in useCheck if PowerDNS is installed and configured as the DNS provider in cPanel. This can be done via WHM under 'DNS Zone Transfers' or by checking for PowerDNS-related packages with 'rpm -qa | grep powerdns'Affected if PowerDNS is installed and configured as the active DNS service in cPanel
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Locate PowerDNS API key configurationExamine the PowerDNS configuration files for API key entries. Common locations include /etc/pdns/pdns.conf or configuration stored in cPanel's DNS cluster settings. Look for 'api-key' or 'webserver-api-key' directivesAffected if API keys are present in the PowerDNS configuration
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Assess key predictability patternsReview the API key format. If the keys appear to follow a sequential, time-based, or otherwise predictable pattern rather than being cryptographically random, this may indicate the vulnerable key generationAffected if The API keys follow a predictable pattern rather than random generation
You are affected if cPanel version is below 88.0.3 and PowerDNS is configured with API keys generated during an upgrade from an earlier version.
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 data88.0.3
Upgrade cPanel to version 88.0.3 or later. After upgrading, regenerate any existing PowerDNS API keys to ensure they are not using the predictable pattern from the vulnerable version.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-26107 — 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-2020-26107 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data