CVE-2026-18766: Panel SQL injection

CISO Take

This is a SQL injection flaw in the customers.php endpoint of core-php-admin-panel, triggered by manipulating the filter_col parameter, and it can be exploited remotely by a low-privileged authenticated user with no further interaction required. This is a generic PHP admin panel tagged in our feed under the ml_ui category, but nothing in the CVE description ties it to an actual AI/ML pipeline, model-serving UI, or LLM tooling — treat the AI-relevance classification with skepticism unless you've confirmed this package is deployed as part of an AI-adjacent admin interface in your environment. Severity is medium (CVSS 6.3) and EPSS sits at a low 0.19% absolute probability, though that still places it above the 91st percentile relative to other CVEs; it is not in CISA KEV and CISA's own SSVC decision is TRACK_STAR (lowest-priority track). The vendor was contacted and did not respond, the project has no versioned releases (rolling release with no patch to point to), and the description states an exploit has already been published, even though no Nuclei template or KEV listing exists yet. Because there's no fix to apply, prioritize input validation/WAF rules on the filter_col parameter, restrict or remove this admin panel from internet-facing exposure, and confirm via your asset inventory whether this package is genuinely part of any AI/ML deployment before allocating further remediation effort.

Sources: EPSS OpenSSF vuldb.com GitHub ATLAS

What is the risk?

Medium technical severity (CVSS 6.3, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction) but low urgency from a real-world exploitation standpoint: EPSS absolute probability is 0.19%, there is no CISA KEV listing, no Nuclei scanning template, and CISA SSVC rates it TRACK_STAR (track only, no immediate action). The main aggravating factors are an unresponsive vendor, no available patched version due to the rolling-release model, and a description claiming a public exploit exists. Confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are all rated Low individually. This is a standard web-application SQLi risk, not an AI-model-specific threat, and should be triaged accordingly.

How does the attack unfold?

Initial Access

Attacker with low-privilege access sends a crafted HTTP request to customers.php targeting the filter_col parameter.

AML.T0049

Exploitation

Unsanitized filter_col input allows injected SQL to execute against the backend database.

Impact

Attacker reads, exfiltrates, or modifies customer records beyond their authorized access, breaching confidentiality and integrity.

Initial Access

Attacker with low-privilege access sends a crafted HTTP request to customers.php targeting the filter_col parameter.

AML.T0049

Exploitation

Unsanitized filter_col input allows injected SQL to execute against the backend database.

Impact

Attacker reads, exfiltrates, or modifies customer records beyond their authorized access, breaching confidentiality and integrity.

What systems are affected?

Package	Ecosystem	Vulnerable Range	Patched
Panel	pip	—	No patch
5.8K OpenSSF 6.7 507 dependents Pushed 8d ago 69% patched ~13d to patch Full package profile →

Do you use Panel? You're affected.

How severe is it?

CVSS 3.1

6.3 / 10

EPSS

0.2%

chance of exploitation in 30 days

Higher than 9% of all CVEs

Source: EPSS v3 — FIRST.org

Exploitation Status

Exploit Available

Exploitation: MEDIUM

Sophistication

Trivial

Exploitation Confidence

medium

○ CISA SSVC: Public PoC

Composite signal derived from CISA KEV, VulnCheck KEV, CISA SSVC, EPSS, Metasploit, Exploit-DB, trickest/cve, Nuclei templates, and inthewild.io exploitation reports.

What is the attack surface?

AV Network

AC Low

PR Low

UI None

S Unchanged

C Low

I Low

A Low

What should I do?

1 step

No patched version exists (rolling release, unresponsive vendor), so mitigation must be compensating: (1) restrict access to customers.php and the admin panel generally to trusted/internal networks or VPN; (2) deploy a WAF rule blocking SQL metacharacters and injection patterns in the filter_col parameter; (3) if feasible, replace the vulnerable filtering logic with parameterized queries/prepared statements at the source; (4) monitor database and web server logs for anomalous queries or errors referencing filter_col; (5) given the vendor is unresponsive and the codebase shows 62 other CVEs with an OpenSSF Scorecard of 6.8/10, evaluate replacing this component if it is business-critical.

What does CISA's SSVC say?

Decision Track*

Exploitation poc

Automatable No

Technical Impact partial

Source: CISA Vulnrichment (SSVC v2.0). Decision based on the CISA Coordinator decision tree.

How is it classified?

Data Leakage Privacy Violation Framework AML.T0049 - Exploit Public-Facing Application

Which compliance frameworks are affected?

This CVE is relevant to:

NIST AI RMF

MANAGE-4.1 - Third-party AI system risks are regularly monitored

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-18766?

This is a SQL injection flaw in the customers.php endpoint of core-php-admin-panel, triggered by manipulating the filter_col parameter, and it can be exploited remotely by a low-privileged authenticated user with no further interaction required. This is a generic PHP admin panel tagged in our feed under the ml_ui category, but nothing in the CVE description ties it to an actual AI/ML pipeline, model-serving UI, or LLM tooling — treat the AI-relevance classification with skepticism unless you've confirmed this package is deployed as part of an AI-adjacent admin interface in your environment. Severity is medium (CVSS 6.3) and EPSS sits at a low 0.19% absolute probability, though that still places it above the 91st percentile relative to other CVEs; it is not in CISA KEV and CISA's own SSVC decision is TRACK_STAR (lowest-priority track). The vendor was contacted and did not respond, the project has no versioned releases (rolling release with no patch to point to), and the description states an exploit has already been published, even though no Nuclei template or KEV listing exists yet. Because there's no fix to apply, prioritize input validation/WAF rules on the filter_col parameter, restrict or remove this admin panel from internet-facing exposure, and confirm via your asset inventory whether this package is genuinely part of any AI/ML deployment before allocating further remediation effort.

Is CVE-2026-18766 actively exploited?

No confirmed active exploitation of CVE-2026-18766 has been reported, but organizations should still patch proactively.

How to fix CVE-2026-18766?

No patched version exists (rolling release, unresponsive vendor), so mitigation must be compensating: (1) restrict access to customers.php and the admin panel generally to trusted/internal networks or VPN; (2) deploy a WAF rule blocking SQL metacharacters and injection patterns in the filter_col parameter; (3) if feasible, replace the vulnerable filtering logic with parameterized queries/prepared statements at the source; (4) monitor database and web server logs for anomalous queries or errors referencing filter_col; (5) given the vendor is unresponsive and the codebase shows 62 other CVEs with an OpenSSF Scorecard of 6.8/10, evaluate replacing this component if it is business-critical.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-18766?

CVE-2026-18766 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.3 (MEDIUM). The EPSS exploitation probability is 0.19%.

What is the AI security impact?

MITRE ATLAS Techniques

AML.T0049 Exploit Public-Facing Application

Compliance Controls Affected

NIST AI RMF: MANAGE-4.1

What are the technical details?

Original Advisory

A flaw has been found in chetans9 core-php-admin-panel up to 90d07ed5aac5e0f09b6a5828d7bb2eb83010763f. This issue affects some unknown processing of the file /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/core-php-admin-panel-master/customers.php. Executing a manipulation of the argument filter_col can lead to sql injection. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploit has been published and may be used. This product operates on a rolling release basis, ensuring continuous delivery. Consequently, there are no version details for either affected or updated releases. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Exploitation Scenario

An attacker with low-privilege access to the admin panel (e.g., a compromised low-tier staff account or an exposed instance with weak access controls) sends a crafted HTTP request to customers.php, injecting SQL syntax through the filter_col parameter. Because the input is not properly sanitized, the injected SQL executes against the backend database, allowing the attacker to read, modify, or exfiltrate customer records beyond their authorized scope. Given a public exploit is reportedly already published, this could be automated and combined with credential stuffing or session hijacking to obtain the required low-privilege foothold.

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-74 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') CWE-89 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

CWE-74 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection'): The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.

[Requirements] Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
[Implementation] Utilize an appropriate mix of allowlist and denylist parsing to filter control-plane syntax from all input.

Source: MITRE CWE corpus.