Is CVE-2026-48172 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2026-48172 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed.

Can CVE-2026-48172 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2026-48172 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-48172?

CVE-2026-48172 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-48172

CRITICALCISA KEVIN THE WILD

CVE-2026-48172

CWE-266Published: May 21, 2026· Updated: May 26, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

EPSS:0.02%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:3.9th

Official Description

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.

NVD Source

Risk Analysis

This critical vulnerability in the LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin before version 2.4.5 allows for privilege escalation, potentially to root. The issue stems from mishandling of Redis enable/disable features. With a CVSS score of 9.8, this vulnerability poses a severe risk of complete system compromise.

This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild, as observed in May 2026, and is listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Attackers can exploit this remotely without authentication due to the network attack vector and low attack complexity.

Recommended Action

Upgrade the LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin to version 2.4.7 or higher. Regularly monitor system logs for suspicious activity related to Redis enable/disable features and block any unauthorized IP addresses.

Generated by the CTIWATCH analysis pipeline from this CVE's metadata (CVSS, EPSS, KEV status, exploit intelligence). Verify against vendor advisories before acting.

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-48172 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CISA has added CVE-2026-48172 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild. U.S. federal agencies are required to patch this within the mandated timeframe, and all organizations should treat remediation as urgent.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.None

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

litespeedtech2 products

litespeed cpanel pluginlitespeed whm plugin

Source: NVD CPE · 2 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

ACTIVE EXPLOITATIONConfirmed exploitation in the wild

Exploit-DB

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

PacketStorm

Security advisories & exploits

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://blog.litespeedtech.com/2026/05/21/security-update-for-litespeed-cpanel-plugin/

News & Research Mentioning CVE-2026-48172

CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog

CISA Alerts· 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 again [xlite_meta score:48 src:CISA Alerts xlite_fp:52d63656aed8163a4305b6c0bd5ce299340325319794850898066d49054828c1]

LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin CVE-2026-48172 Exploited to Run Scripts as Root

The Hacker News· May 23, 2026

A maximum-severity security vulnerability impacting LiteSpeed User-End cPanel Plugin has come under active exploitation in the wild. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-48172 (CVSS score: 10.0), relates to an instance of incorrect privilege assignment that an attacker could abuse to run arbitrary scripts with elevated permissions. "Any cPanel user (including an attacker or a compromised account) may [xlite_meta score:53 src:The Hacker News xlite_fp:7a6bba33cb614c2dd3ac88dc59f7c40450ef9b6f62864f38f27a6b81ffd901f8]