{"id":"CVE-2026-48172","published":"2026-05-21T02:16:33Z","modified":"2026-10-07T19:17:37Z","title":"LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","vendor":"LiteSpeed","product":"cPanel Plugin","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin before 2.4.5 allows privilege escalation (possibly to root), as exploited in the wild in May 2026. Detection is best done via a command line of grep -rE \"cpanel_jsonapi_func=redisAble\" /var/cpanel/logs /usr/local/cpanel/logs/ 2>/dev/null in Bash. If you get no output, you have not been hit with exploitation of the vulnerability. If there is output, we recommend you examine the IP addresses in the list, determine if they are valid IP addresses, and if not, block them. To determine damage done, examine the system logs for use by the detected IP addresses. The issue is related to mishandling of Redis enable/disable features. The recommended minimum version is 2.4.7.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"The LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin, in versions before 2.4.5, contains a privilege assignment flaw in its handling of the Redis enable/disable feature that allows privilege escalation, possibly to root. An attacker with network access can exploit it without authentication or user interaction, using the plugin's configuration as the attack surface.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:14:46Z"},"cvss":{"score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.17915,"percentile":0.97175,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2026-05-26","dueDate":"2026-05-29","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","notes":"https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/ ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48172","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2026-05-21","exploitedFirstSeen":"2026-05-21","ransomware":true,"evidence":[{"url":"https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/","date":"2026-05-21"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-48172","date":"2026-05-21"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2026-05-26"},{"url":"https://www.cyfirma.com/research/tracking-ransomware-may-2026/","date":"2026-06-08"},{"url":"https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/94360/","date":"2026-07-07"}],"evidenceTotal":5,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 31, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae4aefab0c2191cecd41862","created":"2026-10-30"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 30, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae35d889ea92b4ce19c2680","created":"2026-10-29"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-266","name":"Incorrect Privilege Assignment"}],"references":[{"url":"https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-support/cpanel","tags":["Product"]},{"url":"https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-support/release-log","tags":["Release Notes"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-48172","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: public-facing vulnerability exploited remotely without authentication","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"allows privilege escalation (possibly to root), as exploited in the wild","start":46,"end":118}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1068","name":"Exploitation for Privilege Escalation","tactics":["privilege-escalation"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: direct impact is privilege escalation to root","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"allows privilege escalation (possibly to root)","start":46,"end":92}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2026-31204","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2026-31204","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2026-05-26","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":3,"skipped":0,"earliest":"2026-05-23","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/HORKimhab/CVE-2026-48172","repos":[{"name":"HORKimhab/CVE-2026-48172","url":"https://github.com/HORKimhab/CVE-2026-48172","stars":2,"created":"2026-05-23"},{"name":"retmakarunia/CVE-2026-48172","url":"https://github.com/retmakarunia/CVE-2026-48172","stars":0,"created":"2026-05-23"},{"name":"fevar54/CVE-2026-48172---LiteSpeed-cPanel-Plugin-Version-Auditor","url":"https://github.com/fevar54/CVE-2026-48172---LiteSpeed-cPanel-Plugin-Version-Auditor","stars":0,"created":"2026-05-28"}]},"first":{"date":"2026-05-23","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/HORKimhab/CVE-2026-48172"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1068"],"provenance":"ai"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-05-21","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48172","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-05-21","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-05-23","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/HORKimhab/CVE-2026-48172","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-05-26","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-05-26","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2026-31204","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":2,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":5},"priority":{"score":84.3,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":5.0,"detail":"added 163 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":10.0,"detail":"CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV: Known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.43,"detail":"percentile 0.9718"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"3 PoC-in-GitHub repos"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":6.86,"detail":"base score 9.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}