# CVE-2026-79920: Ajenti: Privilege escalation to root via unauthenticated/unauthorized plugin install task

> Low-privileged users can escalate to root by exploiting missing authorization in plugin installation tasks, leading to full host compromise.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j8xf-5fw2-f99q

## What is CVE-2026-79920?

CVE-2026-79920 is a critical vulnerability in ajenti, published on 21 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Ajenti is a Linux & BSD modular server admin panel. Prior to version 2.2.16, any authenticated user can call /api/core/tasks/start to enqueue InstallPlugin, UnInstallPlugin, or UpgradeAll from plugins/plugins/tasks.py without plugin-management authorization. InstallPlugin and UnInstallPlugin construct a pip package specification from unvalidated name and version fields, and the task worker invokes pip while running as root. A low-privileged user can therefore select or manipulate a package installed with root privileges and can install, remove, or upgrade plugins without administrative permission, resulting in root code execution and full host compromise. This issue is fixed in version 2.2.16.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-79920?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-79920?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-79920 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-79920 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-79920 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-79920 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-79920 is a critical vulnerability in ajenti, published on 21 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-79920 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ajenti. 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-2026-79920/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-79920/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-79920
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79920
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-79920

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-79920/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.