CVE-2020-36948
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 · uneditedVestaCP 0.9.8-26 contains a session token vulnerability in the LoginAs module that allows remote attackers to manipulate authentication tokens. Attackers can exploit insufficient token validation to access user accounts and perform unauthorized login requests without proper administrative permissions.
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 confidenceVestaCP 0.9.8-26 contains a session token vulnerability in the LoginAs module where authentication tokens are insufficiently validated, allowing remote attackers to manipulate tokens and gain unauthorized access to user accounts without proper administrative permissions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed VestaCP versionRun command: v-list-sys-release or cat /usr/local/vesta/conf/vesta.conf | grep VERSIONAffected if Version is 0.9.8-26 (exact match indicates vulnerability; versions lower than this in the 0.9.8.x line may also be affected)
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Identify LoginAs module presenceLocate LoginAs-related files: find /usr/local/vesta -name '*login*as*' -o -name '*loginas*' 2>/dev/null; check for /usr/local/vesta/web/login/ directoryAffected if LoginAs module files exist in the installation (vulnerability is only applicable if this module is present)
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Verify LoginAs functionality is enabledCheck VestaCP configuration: cat /usr/local/vesta/conf/vesta.conf | grep -i loginas; also check /usr/local/vesta/conf/httpd.conf or /usr/local/vesta/conf/nginx.conf for LoginAs-related directivesAffected if LoginAs feature is enabled in the VestaCP configuration (vulnerability requires this feature to be active)
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Inspect session token validation in LoginAs codeExamine the LoginAs PHP handler: cat /usr/local/vesta/web/login/index.php (or find the specific login-as handler) and look for token validation logic, checking if tokens are validated for randomness, expiration, and integrity before allowing loginAffected if Code shows weak or missing session token validation (insufficient cryptographic randomness, no expiration checks, or missing integrity validation)
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Check for recent authentication logs indicating LoginAs abuseReview VestaCP auth logs: cat /var/log/vesta/auth.log or /usr/local/vesta/log/auth.log | grep -i 'login.*as\|sudoas\|became' for suspicious login-as activity without proper admin sessionsAffected if Logs show LoginAs usage occurring without corresponding admin session tokens or with malformed tokens
A user is affected if VestaCP version 0.9.8-26 is installed AND the LoginAs module is enabled with weak or missing session token validation in its authentication logic
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 dataUpgrade VestaCP to a patched version and audit all user sessions and account access for any unauthorized activity stemming from this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-36948 — 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-2020-36948 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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