Any cPanel User Can Escalate Privileges Through LiteSpeed's Plugin; CISA's May 29th KEV Remediation Requirement for Covered Entities Has Expired

Last refreshed2026-09-27

Status: KEV | Advisory ID: CVE-2026-48172

Key Details

CVE	CVE-2026-48172
Vulnerability Name	LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Affected products	LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin
Exploitation status	Listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, indicating confirmed active exploitation.
Classified as	CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment)
KEV listing	Added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2026-05-26.
Exploitation prediction (EPSS)	1.01% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (62% percentile) -- FIRST.org's EPSS model.
Federal remediation deadline	2026-05-29 (CISA KEV, Binding Operational Directive).

Affected Products, Subsystems & Sectors

Vendor	Product	Affected Versions	Patch Status
LiteSpeed	cPanel Plugin

Vendor

Product

Affected Versions

Patch Status

LiteSpeed

cPanel Plugin

Subsystems	General OT
Sectors	Multiple

What to Know

LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin contains privilege escalation vulnerability that is exposed via the user-end cPanel plugin, which can be abused by any cPanel user account to execute arbitrary scripts with root privileges.

What to Do

Monitor LiteSpeed's web page for any future patch releases.

References

Source	Reference
NVD	https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48172
CVE	https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-48172

Source

Reference

NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-48172

CVE

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-48172

KEV Required Action

Field	Value
KEV Link	https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
Date Added to KEV	2026-05-26
Required Action Due Date	2026-05-29
Required Action	Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Field

Value

KEV Link

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

Date Added to KEV

2026-05-26

Required Action Due Date

2026-05-29

Required Action

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.