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Full vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-54420High confidence

LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following Vulnerability

LiteSpeed · cPanel Plugin

8.5HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2026-06-18 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Critical, raised one band.upgradedsince 15 Jun 2026

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • EPSS is 0.81% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2026-36657

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

LiteSpeed cPanel plugin before 2.4.8 (as distributed in LiteSpeed WHM PlugIn before 5.3.2.0) mishandles symlinks provided by a user with FTP or web shell access on a shared hosting server running CloudLinux/CageFS, as exploited in the wild in May 2026.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 15 Jun 2026. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
8.5 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2026-06-18 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

LiteSpeed cPanel plugin contains a UNIX symbolic link (Symlink) following vulnerability that could allow a user with FTP or web shell access on a shared hosting server running CloudLinux/CageFS.

What

LiteSpeed cPanel plugin contains a UNIX symbolic link (Symlink) following vulnerability that could allow a user with FTP or web shell access on a shared hosting server running CloudLinux/CageFS.

Why

The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

LiteSpeed cPanel plugin contains a UNIX symbolic link (Symlink) following vulnerability that could allow a user with FTP or web shell access on a shared hosting server running CloudLinux/CageFS.

Why

The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2026-06-15.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
Security boundary
Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-61 ↗

CWE-61: UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following. The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
NetworkCWE-61CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-36657Known-exploited evidence recorded

LiteSpeed cPanel plugin before 2.4.8 (as distributed in LiteSpeed WHM PlugIn before 5.3.2.0) mishandles symlinks provided by a user with FTP or web shell access on a shared hosting server running CloudLinux/CageFS, as exploited in the wild in May 2026.

Official EUVD record ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2026-019816LiteSpeed TechnologiesのLiteSpeed cPanel Plugin等の複数製品におけるUNIX Symbolic Link のフォローに関する脆弱性

LiteSpeed cPanelプラグイン2.4.8以前（LiteSpeed WHMプラグイン5.3.2.0以前に配布されているもの）は、CloudLinux/CageFSを実行している共有ホスティングサーバー上で、FTPまたはウェブシェルアクセスを持つユーザーが提供するシンボリックリンクを不適切に扱う脆弱性があります。この脆弱性は2026年5月に野生環境で悪用されました。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-6844美 CISA 발표 주요 Exploit 정보공유(Update. 2026-06-15)

LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following Vulnerability

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
cPanel Plugin: 2.3 < 2.4.8
Fixed
Upgrade to the LiteSpeed WHM PlugIn v5.3.2.0 or higher (which includes the cPanel PlugIn v2.4.8).
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 14 Jun 2026 · Last source change 16 Jun 2026, 03:56 UTC · CWE-61 · UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-36657
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    2.3 < 2.4.8 · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    After
    cPanel Plugin: 2.3 < 2.4.8 · Fixed: Upgrade to the LiteSpeed WHM PlugIn v5.3.2.0 or higher (which includes the cPanel PlugIn v2.4.8).
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-36657↗CISA KEV record↗Patch or update reference↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2026-54420 · cve.blacktree.nl