CVE-2021-38588
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 · uneditedIn cPanel before 96.0.13, fix_cpanel_perl lacks verification of the integrity of downloads (SEC-587).
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 fix_cpanel_perl utility in cPanel versions before 96.0.13 does not verify the integrity of downloaded files. This allows potential man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious content could be injected during the download process, as no checksum or signature validation is performed on fetched packages.
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< 96.0.13CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 cPanel versionRun the command: /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V or cat /usr/local/cpanel/versionAffected if The reported version is below 96.0.13 (e.g., 96.0.12, 95.x.x, etc.)
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Verify fix_cpanel_perl utility presenceCheck if the utility exists at /usr/local/cpanel/bin/fix_cpanel_perl or via: ls -la /usr/local/cpanel/bin/fix_cpanel_perlAffected if The utility exists and the cPanel version is below 96.0.13
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Confirm version from cPanel APIQuery cPanel API: whmapi1 version or grep version from /var/cpanel/cpanel.configAffected if The version retrieved is less than 96.0.13
You are affected if your cPanel installation is version 96.0.12 or earlier and you have access to or use the fix_cpanel_perl utility.
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 · scoped96.0.13
Upgrade cPanel to version 96.0.13 or later to obtain the integrity verification fix. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, avoid using the fix_cpanel_perl utility until the upgrade can be performed.
cPanel 96.0.13 or later
- 1. Create a full backup of the cPanel server configuration and data before performing any updates.
- 2. Update cPanel to version 96.0.13 or later using the internal update mechanism (e.g., /scripts/upcp or WHM interface).
- 3. After updating, verify that the fix_cpanel_perl utility now includes integrity verification for downloads.
- 4. Confirm the cPanel version is 96.0.13 or higher using 'whmapi1 version' or the WHM interface.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38588 — 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-2021-38588 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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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.
- 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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