CVE-2026-116814 in OpenPanel
Summary
by MITRE • 10/27/2026
OpenPanel before 3.0.0 contains an information exposure vulnerability that writes database connection URLs and email template data to standard output logs. Users with log access can obtain database credentials from migration startup logs and password-reset tokens logged when SMTP_HOST and RESEND_API_KEY are unset.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2026
The identified security flaw in OpenPanel versions prior to 3.0.0 represents a critical failure in secure logging practices, specifically categorized under CWE-532 as Information Exposure Through Log Files. This vulnerability arises from the application's default behavior of writing sensitive configuration data and runtime state information directly to standard output logs during initialization and operational processes. In modern containerized or server-based deployments where log files are often accessible to system administrators, monitoring tools, or potentially compromised services with read access to the filesystem, this exposure creates a significant attack surface for unauthorized data retrieval.
The technical mechanism of the vulnerability involves two distinct vectors within the application's startup sequence and email handling subsystems. During the database migration phase, which typically occurs when the service is first deployed or updated, the framework logs the full connection URL required to establish communication with the backend database. This log entry often contains not only the host address but also the username, password, port number, and potentially SSL/TLS parameters necessary for authentication. An attacker who gains access to these startup logs can extract the complete database credentials, effectively bypassing any application-level security controls by connecting directly to the data store with administrative privileges.
A second vector exists within the email notification system of OpenPanel. When specific environment variables such as SMTP_HOST and RESEND_API_KEY are not configured or are unset, the application falls back to default behaviors that inadvertently log sensitive operational tokens. Specifically, password-reset tokens generated for user account recovery are written to these same standard output logs. This means that any individual with access to the server's console output or log aggregation systems can intercept active reset links, allowing them to hijack user accounts by resetting passwords without needing to know the original credentials.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted. The exposure of database credentials allows for potential data exfiltration, modification, or destruction at the infrastructure level, bypassing application logic entirely. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, as attackers can use these leaked credentials to authenticate directly against backend services. Furthermore, the leakage of password-reset tokens facilitates account takeover attacks, corresponding to ATT&CK techniques such as T1528 Steal Application Access Token or general credential harvesting methods like T1110 Brute Force if combined with other reconnaissance efforts. The combination of these exposures undermines the confidentiality and integrity guarantees expected from a hosting control panel application.
Mitigation strategies must focus on immediate remediation through software updates and configuration hardening. Users running OpenPanel versions earlier than 3.0.0 should upgrade to the latest stable release where this logging behavior has been corrected or removed. For environments that cannot immediately patch, it is imperative to audit log access permissions strictly, ensuring that only highly privileged security personnel can view standard output logs, and even then, such access should be monitored via intrusion detection systems. Additionally, administrators must ensure that all required environment variables for external services like SMTP are properly configured to prevent the fallback behavior that triggers the logging of sensitive tokens. Implementing log sanitization filters or using structured logging frameworks that mask sensitive fields before writing them to disk can also serve as a compensating control until an upgrade is performed.