# CVE-2018-16236: Cross-site scripting in n/a

> An attacker can execute arbitrary scripts in the victim's browser via a crafted filename in cPanel logs, potentially leading to account takeover.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mw8q-35r2-26hm

## What is CVE-2018-16236?

CVE-2018-16236 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Cpanel Cpanel, published on 30 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

cPanel through 74 allows XSS via a crafted filename in the logs subdirectory of a user account, because the filename is mishandled during frontend/THEME/raw/index.html rendering.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16236?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cpanel Cpanel.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16236?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-16236 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-16236 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16236 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cpanel Cpanel

- [CVE-2026-41940](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41940/): WebPros cPanel & WHM and WP2 (WordPress Squared) Missing Authentication for Critical Function (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2003-1425](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-1425/): guestbook.cgi in cPanel 5.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via the template parameter. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-1769](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1769/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-1770](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1770/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-26098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26098/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16236 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16236 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Cpanel Cpanel, published on 30 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16236 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cpanel Cpanel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16236/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16236/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16236
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16236
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16236

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16236/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.