CVE-2026-48172
LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation Vulnerability - [Actively Exploited]
Description
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.
INFO
Published Date :
May 21, 2026, 2:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
May 26, 2026, 8:19 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)
For the benefit of the cybersecurity community and network defenders—and to help every organization better manage vulnerabilities and keep pace with threat activity—CISA maintains the authoritative source of vulnerabilities that have been exploited in the wild.
LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin contains privilege escalation vulnerability that is exposed via the user-end cPanel plugin, which can be abused by any cPanel user account to execute arbitrary scripts with root privileges.
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Unknown
https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/ ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48172
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-48172
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | CRITICAL | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | CRITICAL | 8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | CRITICAL | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update the LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin.
- Block suspicious IP addresses found in logs.
- Examine system logs for unauthorized access.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github
CVE-2026-48172 has a 6 public
PoC/Exploit available at Github.
Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-48172.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-48172 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-48172
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
None
Python
cPanel user run arbitrary scripts as root
CVE-2026-48172
Python Dockerfile Shell
Audit CVE impact, patch status, remediation progress, and verification results across systems.
Makefile Go
None
Python
📡 PoC auto collect from GitHub. ⚠️ Be careful Malware.
security cve exploit poc vulnerability
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-48172 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
-
TheCyberThrone
Google Chrome 148 Security Update
May 29, 2026OverviewGoogle has pushed a major Chrome Stable update fixing 151 security flaws, including 22 critical vulnerabilities affecting core graphics, networking, media, and UI components across ... Read more
-
TheCyberThrone
CISA adds Three Vulnerabilities to KEV Catalog
May 28, 2026OverviewCISA has added three new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog:CVE-2026-8398 (Daemon Tools Lite Embedded Malicious Code)CVE-2026-45321 (TanStack Unspecifie ... Read more
-
TheCyberThrone
CVE-2026-48172 — LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation
May 28, 2026OverviewCISA has added CVE-2026-48172 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild. The flaw is a maximum-severity privilege escalation vulner ... Read more
-
CybersecurityNews
CISA Warns of LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks
CISA has issued an urgent warning regarding a critical vulnerability in the LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin, identified as CVE-2026-48172, which is currently being exploited in real-world attacks. The flaw en ... Read more
-
security.nl
CPanel waarschuwt voor misbruik LiteSpeed-lek en verwijdert plug-in bij gebruikers
CPanel waarschuwt gebruikers voor een actief aangevallen kwetsbaarheid in een plug-in van LiteSpeed waardoor aanvallers root-toegang tot servers kunnen krijgen. Vanwege de impact en het misbruik heeft ... Read more
-
The Hacker News
LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin CVE-2026-48172 Exploited to Run Scripts as Root
A maximum-severity security vulnerability impacting LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin has come under active exploitation in the wild. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-48172 (CVSS score: 10.0), relates to ... Read more
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-48172 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
May. 26, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:litespeedtech:litespeed_cpanel_plugin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 2.4.7 *cpe:2.3:a:litespeedtech:litespeed_whm_plugin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 5.3.1.0 Added Reference Type MITRE: https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/ Types: Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type CISA-ADP: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-48172 Types: US Government Resource Added Reference Type MITRE: https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-support/cpanel Types: Product Added Reference Type MITRE: https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-support/release-log Types: Release Notes -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
May. 26, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-48172 Removed Reference https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/ -
CVE CISA KEV Update by 9119a7d8-5eab-497f-8521-727c672e3725
May. 26, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Date Added 2026-05-26 Added Due Date 2026-05-26 Added Required Action 2026-05-26 Added Vulnerability Name 2026-05-26 -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
May. 24, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/ -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
May. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/ -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
May. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Description LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin before 2.4.5 allows privilege escalation (possibly to root), as exploited in the wild in May 2026. LiteSpeed WHM Plugin (the parent plugin) is unaffected. 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. 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. -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
May. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin before 2.4.5 allows privilege escalation (possibly to root), as exploited in the wild in May 2026. LiteSpeed WHM Plugin (the parent plugin) is unaffected. 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. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CWE CWE-266 Added Reference https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-support/cpanel Added Reference https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-support/release-log