# CVE-2023-35885: CloudPanel - RCE

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2023-35885 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2023-35885

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 9.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** CloudPanel
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-565 (Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking)
- **Tags:** management_panel

## Description

CloudPanel 2 before 2.3.1 has insecure file-manager cookie authentication.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2023-35885](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2023-35885) is a vulnerability in CloudPanel 2 prior to version 2.3.1 that exposes insecure cookie-based authentication in the file manager. This weakness could allow attackers to bypass authentication controls and gain unauthorized access to sensitive files or administrative functions.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 12th of June 2025.

Insights from the CrowdSec network reveal that the attackers trying to exploit CVE-2023-35885 are composed of a fairly even mix of opportunistic and targeted actors. Some attackers employ preliminary reconnaissance, while others use indiscriminate scanning.
In addition, according to the CrowdSec network, attack volume against CVE-2023-35885 has dipped slightly compared to the previous week. Although still commonly targeted, the decline suggests a cooling-off period. Long-term relevance remains, but attention is waning.

Attackers exploit CloudPanel's file manager backend endpoints by sending POST requests to create and modify PHP files, ultimately achieving remote code execution. The targeted endpoints are `/file-manager/backend/makefile`, `/file-manager/backend/text`, and `/file-manager/backend/permissions`.

## Timeline

- 2023-06-20: CVE Published. CVE-2023-35885 is published to NVD.
- 2025-06-12: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2023-35885 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-06-23: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2023-35885 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/datackmy/FallingSkies-CVE-2023-35885
- https://www.cloudpanel.io/docs/v2/changelog/
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-35885.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2023-35885) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2023-35885. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.