Free Way 2 Protect against cPanel Symlink Race Conditions

A cPanel symlink race condition is a type of security vulnerability that occurs when an attacker can manipulate symbolic links (symlinks) to trick a program into accessing or modifying unintended files or directories. This type of attack takes advantage of the time gap between the resolution of the symbolic link and the access or modification of the target file. On cPanel Servers, this type of attack can be very disruptive. Should your cPanel server not include cPanel symlink race condition protection, you and your websites could become a victim.

Here’s how a symlink race condition on a cPanel Server typically works:

1. The attacker creates a symbolic link pointing to a sensitive file or directory.
2. The program attempts to access or modify the file using the symbolic link.
3. The attacker quickly changes the symbolic link to point to a different file before the program accesses or modifies the file.
4. As a result, the program unintentionally operates on the wrong file or directory, which can lead to unauthorized access or modifications.

Symlink race conditions can be exploited to escalate privileges, access confidential information, or execute arbitrary code. To prevent symlink race conditions, cPanel Server users can install the free patch set from TuxCare which was formally, KernelCare.

Install Free cPanel Symlink Race Condition Protection

Let’s get started. First, log in to the cPanel server you want to install the Free cPanel Symlink Race Condition Protection on. You need to be the root user to complete this. Run the following commands.

curl -s https://repo.cloudlinux.com/kernelcare/kernelcare_install.sh | bash

kcarectl --set-patch-type free --update

You can use the free patch set for KernelCare on the latest Operating Systems like Rocky 9 and Alma 9. Once installed, you will be protected against this type of attack. The symlink race condition protection is available to all cPanel servers for free.

Paid Subscriptions

You can purchase a paid subscription for around £5. Paid subscriptions to KernelCare/TuxCare offer Kernel updates on-the-fly. When an update is available, KernelCare/TuxCare will download the updates and apply them to the kernel without the need for a reboot of the cPanel Server. Paid subscriptions help with servers that need nearly 100% uptime.