Main Vulnerability Database Vulnerabilities #VU134649

Improper access control in LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin and LiteSpeed WHM Plugin - CVE-2026-54420

Published: June 16, 2026 / Updated: June 23, 2026

Vulnerability identifier: #VU134649

CSH Severity: Critical

CVSS v4: 9.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H]

CVE-ID: CVE-2026-54420

CWE-ID: CWE-284

Exploitation vector: Remote access

Exploit availability: The vulnerability is being exploited in the wild

Vulnerability details

The vulnerability allows a remote user to escalate privileges to root.

The vulnerability exists due to improper access control in the LiteSpeed cPanel user-end plugin when handling cPanel JSON API requests. A remote user can invoke crafted requests to vulnerable plugin functionality to escalate privileges to root.

Exploitation requires FTP access or web shell access on shared hosting servers running CloudLinux/CageFS.

Note, the vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild.

Affected software

LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin
LiteSpeed WHM Plugin

How to mitigate CVE-2026-54420

Install security update from vendor's website.

LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin - update to 2.4.8
LiteSpeed WHM Plugin - update to 5.3.2.1

Links to Public Exploits and PoC-codes

Exploit #12775 - CVE-2026-54420-LiteSpeed-Symlink-Exploit (A vulnerability in LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin before 2.4.8 and 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.) (June 23, 2026)

External References

https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/06/01/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin-2/

Related Security Bulletins

Privilege escalation in LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin