CVE-2026-48172

LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin privilege escalation, confirmed exploited in the wild.

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.

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18%chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS), 97th percentile

26 Mayadded to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, 2026

29 Mayfederal remediation deadline, already passed

Passedpast the deadline: patch now

CISA's name for it	LiteSpeed cPanel Plugin Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Vendor and product	LiteSpeed · cPanel Plugin
Type	privilege escalation · CWE-266
Exploited	Confirmed by CISA listed 26 May 2026
Likelihood	one of the most likely to be exploited of every vulnerability tracked
Deadline	29 May 2026 · already passed
Used in ransomware	Not reported
Advisories	blog.litespeedtech.com ↗ · nvd.nist.gov ↗

What to do

Three steps, in this order

Step 1

Install the update on every affected system, servers and workstations alike.

Step 2

Escalation bugs are chained after a first foothold: check for other exposures an attacker could start from.

Step 3

Review who holds administrative rights, and alert on new ones.

CISA's 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.

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Questions

CVE-2026-48172 in short

Is CVE-2026-48172 being exploited?

Yes. CISA added CVE-2026-48172 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 26 May 2026, which it does only on evidence of exploitation in the wild.

What is the CISA deadline for CVE-2026-48172?

US federal agencies must remediate it by 29 May 2026. Everyone else should treat that date as the latest safe point to patch an internet-facing system.

How likely is CVE-2026-48172 to be exploited in the next 30 days?

FIRST's Exploit Prediction Scoring System gives it 18%, the 97th percentile of every CVE it scores.

How do I fix CVE-2026-48172?

Install the update on every affected system, servers and workstations alike. Escalation bugs are chained after a first foothold: check for other exposures an attacker could start from. Review who holds administrative rights, and alert on new ones.

Same vendor

Other LiteSpeed vulnerabilities being exploited

CVE	Product	Type	Listed
CVE-2026-54420	cPanel Plugin	exploited vulnerability	15 June 2026

Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue (released 10 November 2026) and FIRST EPSS. Page compiled automatically by SAK T.L.M, the threat-intelligence tool of SAK T.E.C, on 13 November 2026.