CVE-2026-54420Known exploitationPublic exploitNetwork attack vector

Hosting-account-to-root escalation via symlink following

Published Jun 14, 2026 · Updated Jun 14, 2026

Symlink following in the LiteSpeed cPanel plugin before 2.4.8 allows remote authenticated users to escalate from a hosting account to root. Concurrent generateEcCert and packageUserSize calls cause the plugin to follow attacker-planted links without validating that resolved targets remain in CageFS. FTP or web shell access to a shared CloudLinux/CageFS server is required, and successful exploitation grants host-level root control.

CVSS severity8.5
High
EPSS probability1.44%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Symlink following in the LiteSpeed cPanel plugin before 2.4.8 allows remote authenticated users to escalate from a hosting account to root. Concurrent generateEcCert and packageUserSize calls cause the plugin to follow attacker-planted links without validating that resolved targets remain in CageFS. FTP or web shell access to a shared CloudLinux/CageFS server is required, and successful exploitation grants host-level root control.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-54420
Published
Jun 14, 2026
Updated
Jun 14, 2026
Vendor
LiteSpeed Technologies
Product
LiteSpeed Web Cache Manager plugin for cPanel
Classifications
CWE-61, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 14, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.3 <2.4.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

LiteSpeed Technologies · LiteSpeed Web Cache Manager plugin for cPanelversion=2.3 <2.4.8

Published CVSS scores

8.5MITRECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-61UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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