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Nexus Repository 3 EUVDEUVD-2026-102153

| CVE-2026-97666 MEDIUM
Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection') (CWE-470)
2026-10-15 Sonatype GHSA-rchx-54gw-m94r
6.9
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: Sonatype
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Reach ExtDirect endpoint unauthenticated
  2. Exploit
    Submit attacker-controlled class name
  3. Execution
    Trigger Java class-loading lookup
  4. Impact
    Infer class presence from response behavior

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Reflection safety, class allowlisting
Exploitation Conditions

No special conditions - remote unauthenticated exploitation against default configurations of Sonatype Nexus Repository 3, reachable through its ExtDirect endpoint (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N). The key LIMITING factor is impact, not reachability: successful exploitation only reveals whether specific Java classes are present in the application and does not grant code execution, file access, or data modification. Exposure is further bounded to instances running affected versions prior to the 3.97.0 fix and reachable on the network/interface where the ExtDirect endpoint is served.

Impact

This is a genuine but modest-severity information-disclosure flaw, not a critical issue despite the 'RCE' tag applied in the input (the description explicitly states it 'does not by itself allow code execution', so the RCE tag is misleading). The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N) confirms remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated reachability with no user interaction - attractive characteristics - but impact is capped at VC:L/VI:N/VA:N, i.e. an attacker can only learn whether specific Java classes are loadable, which is reconnaissance value rather than direct compromise. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public POC is present in the supplied data, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation. Net: prioritize patching because the product is a high-value CI/CD target and the flaw is unauthenticated, but treat it as an enumeration/recon primitive that may be chained with other bugs rather than a standalone high-risk RCE. Signals are internally consistent except for the contradictory 'RCE' tag versus the description - defer to the description and CWE-470 (unsafe class selection).

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An unauthenticated attacker on the network sends crafted input to the Nexus Repository 3 ExtDirect endpoint that controls a Java class-loading call, then observes the response to determine whether a named class exists in the running application. No public exploit is identified in the provided data; the technique serves as reconnaissance to fingerprint installed libraries, plugins, or versions, potentially informing a later chained attack. It does not itself yield code execution or data extraction beyond class-presence inference.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 15, 2026

Java class-enumeration through the ExtDirect endpoint in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to pass attacker-controlled input into a Java class loading call and thereby determine whether specific classes are present in the application, a low-impact information-disclosure issue that does not by itself permit code execution. The attack requires no authentication or user interaction (CVSS v4.0 PR:N/UI:N, assessed CVSS v3.1 6.9-equivalent AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) and is limited to instances of Nexus Repository 3 running versions prior to the 3.97.0 fix that expose the ExtDirect endpoint on an reachable network interface. There is no confirmed active exploitation (not in CISA KEV) and no public exploit code identified at time of analysis; the 'RCE' tag in the source feed is misleading because the vendor description explicitly states the flaw does not achieve code execution.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Nexus Repository 3.97.0, which resolves the unsafe class-loading path; upgrade from any earlier 3.x release using the instructions in the 3.97.0 release notes (https://help.sonatype.com/en/sonatype-nexus-repository-3-97-0-release-notes.html) and consult the vendor advisory (https://support.sonatype.com/hc/en-us/articles/56206649520147/) before upgrading. If immediate upgrade is not possible, reduce exposure by not publishing the repository manager to untrusted networks: place it behind a reverse proxy or firewall rule that blocks unauthenticated requests to the ExtDirect servlet path (typically /service/extdirect) while continuing to allow authenticated UI traffic, or restrict source IPs to trusted administrative ranges; the trade-off is that ExtDirect is used by the Nexus web UI, so an unqualified block degrades or breaks browser-based administration, and IP allowlisting adds operational overhead and can impede legitimate remote users. Because the flaw is only a class-enumeration oracle, no emergency isolation of already-patched instances is warranted, but logging and alerting on anomalous unauthenticated ExtDirect calls before remediation can help detect reconnaissance against the endpoint.

Affected VersionsENISA

Nexus Repository 3 3.0.0 <3.97.0

Affected Packages

euvd nexus_repository_3 fix: 3.97.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability is rooted in CWE-470 (Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code, also known as unsafe reflection). Nexus Repository 3's web UI and many server-side operations are driven by ExtDirect, a Direct Web Remoting (DWR)-style RPC layer that maps JavaScript calls to Java methods. The affected code path feeds a request-supplied value into a Java class-loading/reflection call (for example a Class.forName-style lookup) without restricting the candidate class names, so an attacker can probe arbitrary names and use the difference between 'class found' and 'class not found' responses or errors as an oracle. This is a classpath-fingerprinting primitive: it can reveal which libraries, frameworks, or custom classes are loaded (useful for pre-attack reconnaissance and version inference), but the primitive itself does not instantiate attacker-chosen code, load attacker-supplied bytecode, or execute commands. The affected product is captured by the CPE cpe:2.3:a:sonatype:nexus_repository_3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, i.e. the entire 3.x line up to the fixed release.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Sonatype) PRIMARY 6.9 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 5.3 MEDIUM

Remote unauthenticated endpoint with low complexity (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); impact limited to low confidentiality (class-presence disclosure) with no integrity or availability effect.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (Sonatype).

CVSS VectorVendor: Sonatype

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
Low
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
None
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to supply attacker-controlled input to a Java class loading call through an ExtDirect endpoint. This allows the attacker to learn whether specific classes are present in the application. The issue does not by itself allow code execution.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.6%
Top 55% exploitable
Prevalence
High
widely deployed enterprise artifact repository across CI/CD environments
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.6%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact· derived
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

35
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +34
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0
CVE-2026-17594 HIGH POC
8.2 Aug 07

Incorrect authorization in the Nexus Repository 3 CE/Pro repository-creation UI allows an authenticated user with a form

CVE-2026-17601 HIGH
8.9 Aug 07

Privilege escalation in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an authenticated low-privileged user - who holds the 'update

CVE-2026-17603 HIGH
8.7 Aug 07

Remote code execution in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 is achievable by any user holding the nx-datastores-update permissi

CVE-2026-97712 HIGH
8.7 Oct 15

Privilege escalation in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an authenticated user who holds the 'role create' or 'role up

CVE-2026-17600 HIGH
8.7 Aug 07

Insufficient session expiration in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows a previously-authenticated user to retain full rep

CVE-2026-14644 HIGH
8.6 Aug 07

Privilege escalation in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an authenticated user holding privilege-management rights to

CVE-2026-14504 HIGH
8.2 Jul 14

Authorization bypass in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3's component upload API lets an account holding only read/browse priv

CVE-2026-77124 HIGH
7.5 Sep 02

Script execution enforcement failure in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows privileged authenticated users to invoke pre-

CVE-2026-97665 HIGH
7.1 Oct 15

Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 fails to enforce a write-authorization check on the NuGet symbol-package upload path, lettin

CVE-2026-77125 HIGH
7.1 Sep 02

Incorrect authorization in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows a low-privileged user holding the `nexus:blobstores:create

CVE-2026-17599 MEDIUM
6.9 Aug 07

Unverified password change in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows any account holding the nexus:* permission to overwrite

CVE-2026-17596 MEDIUM
6.3 Aug 07

Stored XSS in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 enables an authenticated user holding blob store management permissions to inj

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