Acronis cPanel Backup Plugin Vulnerability Exploited in Targeted Attacks  Ravie Lakshmanan  Sep 16, 2026 Vulnerability / Linux Acronis has warned that a high-severity security flaw in its Backup plugin for cPanel and Web Host Manager (WHM) deployments has been exploited in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-87886 (CVSS score: 7.8), is described as a case of local privilege escalation due to insecure file permissions. It affects the following versions - Acronis Backup plugin for cPanel & WHM (Linux) before build 1.9.3.1021 - Fixed in 1.9.3 HF3 Acronis Backup extension for Plesk (Linux) before build 1.8.11.638 Successful exploitation of the flaw could allow an attacker with low privileges to escalate their permissions on a susceptible Linux version, potentially enabling them to perform unauthorized actions or run arbitrary code that could impact the confidentiality and integrity of the application. "This update contains fixes for 1 high-severity security vulnerability and should be installed immediately by all users," Acronis noted in a separate advisory for 1.9.3 HF3. "Exploitation of this vulnerability has been detected in the wild in limited, targeted attacks." There are currently no details about the vulnerability, or who is behind the attacks exploiting it and what the end goals are. It's also not clear when the activity was detected and since when the security flaw may have been exploited in the wild. The Hacker News has contacted Acronis for comment and we will update the story if we hear back. Customers of the Acronis backup plugin are advised to apply the latest updates as soon as possible to stay protected. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Google News , Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE      Tweet  Share  Share  Share   Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter  Share on Linkedin  Share on Reddit  Share on Hacker News  Share on Email  Share on WhatsApp Share on Facebook Messenger  Share on Telegram SHARE  linux , privilege escalation , Vulnerability ⚡ Top Stories This Week OpenAI Agents Linked to RubyGems Campaign That Gained RCE on RubyDoc Servers GitLab CVSS 10 File-Read Flaw Draws In-the-Wild Probes After Disclosure Claude Used to Automate Exploitation and Data Theft Across Multiple Victims Attackers Chain JFrog Artifactory Flaws to Gain Admin Control and Plant Backdoors PaperCut Replaces Emergency Patches With Fixes for Two Actively Exploited Flaws Cisco FMC Flaws Exploited to Steal Credentials and Deploy Qilin Ransomware ThreatsDay: 200 Android Flaws, Browser-Built Phishing, 119K Scam Shops + 23 More Stories Check Point Discloses Two 9.8-Rated VPN Certificate Flaws Enabling Unauthenticated RCE Anthropic Discloses Fourth AI Hacking Incident Involving Claude Opus 4.6 Four Spy Groups Used the Same Chrome and Windows Exploit Kit Within a Week DeepSeek Harness Flaw Let AI Agents Disable Their Own File Sandbox Without Approval Chrome V8 Zero-Day Exploited in the Wild Enables Code Execution Inside Sandbox New cPanel Flaw Lets a Hosting Account With Mail Privileges Run Code as Root F5 BIG-IP APM Malware Injects a PHP Web Shell Into Memory, Evading Disk Scans Researcher Drops New Microsoft Defender PoC Showing ShieldBreak Patch Can Be Bypassed Microsoft Patches Record 974 Flaws, Including Two Exploited Windows Zero-Days ChatGPT Flaw Let a Planted Prompt Send a Victim's Gmail Data to Another Account WeChat Zero-Click Worm Took Over Accounts on iPhone and Android via Incoming Calls Fake IT Calls Target Executives in Microsoft 365 Data Theft and Extortion Attacks When the Whole Company Adopts AI: What It Does to Your SOC Your Critical Vulnerabilities Might Not Be Your Biggest Risk What It Took to Reach 1 Billion Build Manifests US Becomes Top Target in RMM Phishing Campaign Spanning 46 Countries Why Are So Many Security Professionals Keeping Breaches Quiet? The Economics of Dwell Time and Why AI Native SIEM Changes the Equation ⭐ Featured Resources Get the eBook: Map Enterprise AI Risk Across the Full Lifecycle Give SOC Analysts Visibility Into 90% of Attacks Within 60 Seconds Benchmark Your SOC's AI Adoption With the 2026 Security Operations Report Register for LDR516: Strategic Vulnerability and Threat Management at SANS DC Metro