CVE-2026-48172: LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Q: How do I fix CVE-2026-48172?

litespeed cpanel plugin: upgrade to 2.4.7; litespeed whm plugin: upgrade to 5.3.1.0. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Q: Is CVE-2026-48172 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2026-48172 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, so treat it as patch-now.

Q: What does CVE-2026-48172 affect?

CVE-2026-48172 affects litespeed cpanel plugin, litespeed whm plugin. Severity is critical (CVSS 9.8). 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/

Q: How urgent is CVE-2026-48172?

Priority 92/100. Critical severity; EPSS top 3%: very likely to be exploited; Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV); CISA SSVC: automatable with total technical impact; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Patch now

CRITICAL 9.8EXPLOITEDREMOTEUPGRADEUPGRADE

CVE-2026-48172 is a critical-severity flaw (CVSS 9.8) affecting litespeed cpanel plugin, litespeed whm plugin, reported as exploited in the wild. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

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 i

Why this priority

Critical severity
EPSS top 3%: very likely to be exploited
Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV)
CISA SSVC: automatable with total technical impact
Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

A fixed release or distro patch exists.

Risk facts

CVSS score	9.8 (Critical)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	17.9% (top 3%)
CISA exploited list	Yes, fix due 2026-05-29
Weakness	CWE-266
Published	2026-05-21
Last modified	2026-10-07

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: litespeedtech

Last updated 2026-10-07 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2026-05-21 02:16 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-05-26Exploited Added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list
2026-05-29Deadline CISA due date for US federal agencies to patch
2026-10-07 19:17 UTCUpdated Record last modified

litespeedtech litespeed cpanel plugin UPGRADE

Affected: < 2.4.7

Fixed in: 2.4.7

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy litespeed-cpanel-plugin || rpm -q litespeed-cpanel-plugin || litespeed-cpanel-plugin --version

2. UPGRADE to 2.4.7 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade litespeed-cpanel-plugin

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade litespeed-cpanel-plugin

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

litespeedtech litespeed whm plugin UPGRADE

Affected: < 5.3.1.0

Fixed in: 5.3.1.0

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy litespeed-whm-plugin || rpm -q litespeed-whm-plugin || litespeed-whm-plugin --version

2. UPGRADE to 5.3.1.0 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade litespeed-whm-plugin

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade litespeed-whm-plugin

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

Exact fixes by distribution

Fedora ELN · clash-meta · FIXED · 1.19.33-1.eln159 · FEDORA-2026-7dfb64c5e1 · source

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=FEDORA-2026-7dfb64c5e1

Fedora 46 · vulkan-utility-libraries · FIXED · 1.4.363.0-1.fc46 · FEDORA-2026-994176daf5 · source

sudo dnf upgrade --advisory=FEDORA-2026-994176daf5

Public exploits and detection

Public code exists for this CVE. Treat unpatched systems as at risk, and only run PoCs in a lab.

GitHub PoC: HORKimhab/CVE-2026-48172 (2 stars)
GitHub PoC: retmakarunia/CVE-2026-48172 (0 stars)
GitHub PoC: fevar54/CVE-2026-48172---LiteSpeed-cPanel-Plugin-Version-Auditor (0 stars)

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · CISA KEV catalog · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2026-48172?

litespeed cpanel plugin: upgrade to 2.4.7; litespeed whm plugin: upgrade to 5.3.1.0. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2026-48172 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2026-48172 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, so treat it as patch-now.

What does CVE-2026-48172 affect?

CVE-2026-48172 affects litespeed cpanel plugin, litespeed whm plugin. Severity is critical (CVSS 9.8). 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/

How urgent is CVE-2026-48172?

Priority 92/100. Critical severity; EPSS top 3%: very likely to be exploited; Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV); CISA SSVC: automatable with total technical impact; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Related CVEs

CVE-2026-54420 HIGH 8.5 EXPLOITED UPGRADE UPGRADE LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following Vulnerability

References

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