CVE-2026-48172
Confirmed PUBLISHEDLiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin before 2.4.5 allows privilege escalation (possibly to root), as exploited in the wild in May 2026. Detection is...
1 day faster than CISA KEV
Recommended Action
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
At a Glance
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.
- CVE Published
- May 21, 2026
- Exploitation Reported
- Jun 01, 2026
- CVSS
- 10.0 Critical
- EPSS
- 18.9%
Affected Versions
| Vendor | Product | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiteSpeed Technologies |
cPanel Plugin
|
2.3 to < 2.4.7 |
Affected |
| LiteSpeed Technologies |
WHM Plugin
WHM Plugin/cPanel Plugin |
0 to < 5.3.1.0 |
Affected |
CVE References
- litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-... litespeedtech.com · CVE Record https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-p...
- litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-panel-... litespeedtech.com · CVE Record https://www.litespeedtech.com/products/litespeed-web-server/control-p...
- blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpa... blog.litespeedtech.com · CVE Record https://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespe...
Recommended Actions
- Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
- Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
- Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.
Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources
Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CVE First | 2026-06-01 13:29 UTC |
| CISA | 2026-06-02 14:00 UTC |
No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Virtual Patch
Compensating WAF rules to help reduce exposure to this CVE. Rule content and deployable vendor exports are available with KEVIntel Enterprise.
KEVIntel does not currently have a virtual patch for this CVE. When available, KEVIntel virtual patches ship as deployable ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF rules.
Enterprise feature. Virtual patch rule content and deployable vendor exports (ModSecurity, Cloudflare, AWS WAF) are available to KEVIntel Enterprise users.
CVSS Scores
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploitation Status
Exploited in the wild
Recorded 2026-06-01 13:29:31 UTC · CVE
Proof of concept available
Recorded 2026-05-28 16:47:33 UTC · GitHub
Weaknesses (CWE)
-
Incorrect Privilege Assignment
Recent Mentions
All CISA Advisories · May 26, 2026
CISA has added one new vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2026-48172 LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation Vulnerability This type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and poses significant risks to the federal enterprise. Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the KEV Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information. Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of KEV Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.
Potential Proof of Concepts
These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.
github · Created 2026-05-28 16:47:33 UTC · 0 stars
This script safely checks the local version of the LiteSpeed cPanel plugin to determine if the system is running a version vulnerable to CVE-2026-48172. It does not send exploits or interact with network endpoints maliciously.
Timeline
Key exploitation, disclosure, scanner coverage, and KEV attestation events for this CVE.
-
14:00 UTC about 1 month ago14:00 UTC · about 1 month ago
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
13:29 UTC about 2 months ago13:29 UTC · about 2 months ago
Added to KEVIntel KEV Feed
High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation
-
16:47 UTC about 2 months ago16:47 UTC · about 2 months ago
Public PoC available
Public proof-of-concept code published
-
00:38 UTC about 2 months ago00:38 UTC · about 2 months ago
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
00:38 UTC about 2 months ago00:38 UTC · about 2 months ago
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API
Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
Pro API Example
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2026-48172
{
"cve_id": "CVE-2026-48172",
"title": "LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin before 2.4.5 allows privilege escalation (po...",
"affected_vendor": "LiteSpeed Technologies",
"affected_product": "cPanel Plugin, WHM Plugin",
"affected_versions": [
{ "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
],
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 10.0,
"epss_score": 0.18914,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
"proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
"scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}