Nexus Repository 3 - Wildcard Privilege Update Self-Escalation to Administrator
A user holding a permission to update privilege definitions could modify a wildcard privilege already assigned to their own role to grant broader permissions than they were authorized to hold, including full administrative access, without any additional authorization check or role reassignment.
- Published
- Aug 7, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 23, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.3% · 19th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-862
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Report tools
Action score
35
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 35 / 40 · 8.9 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.3%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · Sonatype
- 8.9
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| sonatype | nexus repository manager | cpe:2.3:a:sonatype:nexus_repository_manager |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- sonatype nexus repository manager3.19.0 and later · before 3.95.0
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Sonatype). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Sonatype Nexus Repository 3
- 3.19.0 and later · before 3.95.0affected · semver
Same product
sonatype: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-7238Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager before 3.15.0 has Incorrect Access Control.KEV92Now
- CVE-2019-5475The Nexus Yum Repository Plugin in v2 is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution when instances using CommandLineExecutor.java are supplied vuln41Plan
- CVE-2019-9629Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager before 3.17.0 establishes a default administrator user with weak defaults (fixed credentials).39Monitor
- CVE-2017-17717Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager through 2.14.5 has weak password encryption with a hardcoded CMMDwoV value in the LDAP integration feature39Monitor
- CVE-2026-3199Nexus Repository 3 - Authenticated Remote Code Execution via Task Property Injection37Monitor
- CVE-2026-5189Nexus Repository 3 - Hardcoded Credential in Internal Database Component36Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 | 3.95.0 | Vendor (CNA) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2026-1450424 days apartNexus Repository 3 - Authorization Bypass in Component Upload API32Monitor
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-862 · Missing AuthorizationCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- help.sonatype.com/en/sonatype-nexus-repository-3-95-0-release-notes.html
- support.sonatype.com/hc/en-us/articles/53889365883539/
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.