9.9
CRITICAL CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-79920
Ajenti: Privilege escalation to root via unauthenticated/unauthorized plugin install task
Description

Ajenti is a Linux & BSD modular server admin panel. Prior to version 2.2.16, any authenticated user can call /api/core/tasks/start to enqueue InstallPlugin, UnInstallPlugin, or UpgradeAll from plugins/plugins/tasks.py without plugin-management authorization. InstallPlugin and UnInstallPlugin construct a pip package specification from unvalidated name and version fields, and the task worker invokes pip while running as root. A low-privileged user can therefore select or manipulate a package installed with root privileges and can install, remove, or upgrade plugins without administrative permission, resulting in root code execution and full host compromise. This issue is fixed in version 2.2.16.

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 21, 2026, 5:18 p.m.

Last Modified :

Sept. 21, 2026, 5:18 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-79920 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.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL [email protected]
Solution
Update Ajenti to version 2.2.16 or later to fix unauthorized plugin management.
  • Update Ajenti to version 2.2.16.
  • Verify plugin management authorization controls.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-79920 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-2026-79920 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).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-79920 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-79920 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.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Sep. 21, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description Ajenti is a Linux & BSD modular server admin panel. Prior to version 2.2.16, any authenticated user can call /api/core/tasks/start to enqueue InstallPlugin, UnInstallPlugin, or UpgradeAll from plugins/plugins/tasks.py without plugin-management authorization. InstallPlugin and UnInstallPlugin construct a pip package specification from unvalidated name and version fields, and the task worker invokes pip while running as root. A low-privileged user can therefore select or manipulate a package installed with root privileges and can install, remove, or upgrade plugins without administrative permission, resulting in root code execution and full host compromise. This issue is fixed in version 2.2.16.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-862
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/79xxx/CVE-2026-79920.json">CVE-2026-79920</a>
    Added Reference https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/commit/3a8cbee32df4c5033796f19af4210011163a6f6e
    Added Reference https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/commit/f07f02e0cdeeb3e528c1d5af28e27fd11623c49c
    Added Reference https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/releases/tag/v2.2.16
    Added Reference https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/security/advisories/GHSA-j8xf-5fw2-f99q
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.