CVE-2021-38590
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 96.0.8, weak permissions on web stats can lead to information disclosure (SEC-584).
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 96.0.8 contains weak file permissions on web statistics directories, allowing unauthorized users to read web analytics data that should be restricted, leading to information disclosure.
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< 11.98.0.8CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 installed cPanel versionRetrieve the cPanel version using the command: whmapi1 version or by checking /var/cpanel/cpanel.config for the version lineAffected if The installed version is lower than 11.98.0.8 (or 96.0.8 in the major version format)
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Identify web statistics directoriesLocate directories that contain web analytics data such as awstats, analog, webalizer, or similar web statistic log output. These are typically found within user home directories under public_html or in /var/cpanel/usage/Affected if Web statistics directories exist on the system and contain analytics data
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Inspect file permissions on web statistics directoriesRun 'ls -la' or 'stat' on the identified web statistics directories and files to examine the permission bits. Look for permissions that allow read access by unauthorized users such as world-readable (o+r) or group-readable permissions accessible to non-owner usersAffected if The permissions allow read access to users other than the file owner or authorized account users (for example, permissions are 755 or looser instead of 750 or stricter)
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Verify ownership and access controlsCheck the user and group ownership of the web statistics directories using 'ls -ld' and compare against the expected owning user account. Confirm that only the intended user or privileged system accounts have accessAffected if Directories are owned by the correct user account but are readable by other non-privileged users due to permissive permissions
A system is affected if it runs cPanel version below 11.98.0.8 AND has web statistics directories with permissions that allow unauthorized users to read the analytics data.
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 data11.98.0.8
Update cPanel to version 96.0.8 or later, or manually review and correct file permissions on web stats directories to restrict read access to authorized users only.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38590 — 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-2021-38590 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data