Critical severity · published Sep 21, 2026
CVE-2026-79920
Ajenti: Privilege escalation to root via unauthenticated/unauthorized plugin install task
9.9
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
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.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 50% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
AJ
ajenti · ajenti
< 2.2.16 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79920
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-79920
github.com
https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/commit/3a8cbee32df4c5033796f19af4210011163a6f6e
github.com
https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/commit/f07f02e0cdeeb3e528c1d5af28e27fd11623c49c
github.com
https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/releases/tag/v2.2.16
github.com
https://github.com/ajenti/ajenti/security/advisories/GHSA-j8xf-5fw2-f99q
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