CVE-2021-38584
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 · uneditedThe WHM Locale Upload feature in cPanel before 98.0.1 allows XXE attacks (SEC-585).
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 confidenceThe WHM Locale Upload feature in cPanel before version 98.0.1 is vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection attacks. Attackers can exploit the locale file upload functionality to inject malicious XML entities, potentially reading sensitive files or causing denial of 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< 98.0.1CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 cPanel versionRun command: /usr/local/cpanel/version or whmapi1 version. Alternatively, log into WHM and check the version displayed in the footer of any page.Affected if The installed version is below 98.0.1 (e.g., 96.x, 94.x, etc.)
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Verify WHM Locale Upload feature accessLog into WHM as administrator, navigate to Locale Upload (typically under cPanel or Server Configuration sections). Confirm whether the feature exists and is accessible.Affected if The Locale Upload feature is present and accessible in WHM (the XXE vulnerability exists in this feature)
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Check user access controls on Locale UploadIn WHM, review user roles and permissions. Check if non-administrator users or resellers have access to the Locale Upload functionality.Affected if Users other than the primary administrator can access or upload locale files in WHM
You are affected if your cPanel version is below 98.0.1 AND the WHM Locale Upload feature is accessible to users who could upload malicious locale XML files.
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.
dbcve · scoped98.0.1
Update cPanel to version 98.0.1 or later to patch the XXE vulnerability. Until patched, restrict access to the Locale Upload feature in WHM to trusted administrators only.
cPanel version 98.0.1 or later
- Ensure you have a complete backup of your cPanel/WHM system and data before proceeding
- Log in to WHM (Web Host Manager) as the root user
- Navigate to 'cPanel' > 'Upgrade to Latest Version' or use the command line: /scripts/upcp
- Execute the upgrade to update cPanel to the latest available version (98.0.1 or later)
- After upgrade completes, verify the version by checking WHM > Server Information or running: /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V
- Confirm the WHM Locale Upload feature (SEC-585) is now patched by attempting a safe test upload if you use this feature
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38584 — 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-2021-38584 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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