CVE-2020-26886

Local privilege escalation via externally initialized trusted data

Published Mar 18, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper initialization in Softaculous before 5.5.7 allows local users to execute code and escalate privileges on the host. The public record identifies externally initialized trusted variables or data stores as the cause but does not disclose the affected file, function, input, or incorrect assignment. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and grants code execution with higher host privileges; no remote path is reported.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.63%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper initialization in Softaculous before 5.5.7 allows local users to execute code and escalate privileges on the host. The public record identifies externally initialized trusted variables or data stores as the cause but does not disclose the affected file, function, input, or incorrect assignment. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and grants code execution with higher host privileges; no remote path is reported.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-26886
Published
Mar 18, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-665, CAPEC-26, CAPEC-29, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 18, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.9NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-665Improper Initialization
CAPEC-26Leveraging Race Conditions
CAPEC-29Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use Race Conditions
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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