Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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
AC:H reflects the 'certain role configurations' prerequisite not captured in the provided vector; PR:L because privilege-management delegation is required; no availability impact described.
Primary rating from Vendor (Sonatype).
CVSS VectorVendor: Sonatype
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Nexus Repository 3 contained a privilege escalation vulnerability in the REST privileges API. An authenticated user with permission to manage privileges could, under certain role configurations, escalate their own access to full administrator by exploiting a type-confusion flaw in the privilege update endpoint.
AnalysisAI
Privilege escalation in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an authenticated user holding privilege-management rights to elevate their own access to full administrator by exploiting a type-confusion flaw (CWE-843) in the REST privilege update endpoint. Exploitation is constrained to specific role configurations, but the network-accessible attack surface and high confidentiality and integrity impact (VC:H/VI:H per the CVSS 4.0 vector) make this a meaningful insider or compromised-account risk in enterprise DevOps environments. A vendor-released patch is available in the Nexus Repository 3.95.0 release; no public exploit code or CISA KEV listing has been identified at time of analysis.
Technical ContextAI
Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 is an artifact repository manager exposing a REST API for managing components, roles, and privileges, used widely across enterprise CI/CD pipelines. The affected component is the privilege update endpoint within the REST privileges API. CWE-843 (Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type, commonly called 'Type Confusion') indicates the endpoint fails to enforce consistent type-checking on the privilege object submitted during an update operation - allowing a caller to substitute an incompatible privilege type that the server processes with elevated authority. Despite the 'Memory Corruption' tag in the source intelligence, CWE-843 in an API context most commonly manifests as server-side logic confusion rather than a memory-safety exploit; however, memory-state effects at the language runtime level cannot be ruled out without source code review. The CPE string cpe:2.3:a:sonatype:nexus_repository_3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all versions of Nexus Repository 3 with no bounded upper version, confirming the patch boundary falls within 3.95.0 per the referenced release notes.
RemediationAI
The primary remediation is upgrading Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 to version 3.95.0 or later, where the type-confusion flaw in the privilege update endpoint has been resolved per the vendor release notes at https://help.sonatype.com/en/sonatype-nexus-repository-3-95-0-release-notes.html and the accompanying advisory at https://support.sonatype.com/hc/en-us/articles/53157550694675. Organizations unable to upgrade immediately should audit and restrict which user accounts hold privilege-management permissions, applying the principle of least privilege to remove delegation from accounts that do not strictly require it - this directly eliminates the attack surface since exploitation requires that specific permission. Additionally, restrict network access to the Nexus REST API (default port 8081) to trusted internal networks or VPN-connected hosts, limiting exposure to the AV:N attack vector. Note that access controls applied via reverse proxy or firewall rules do not patch the underlying type-confusion flaw and should be treated as temporary compensating controls only.
More in Nexus Repository 3
View allIncorrect authorization in the Nexus Repository 3 CE/Pro repository-creation UI allows an authenticated user with a form
Privilege escalation in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an authenticated low-privileged user - who holds the 'update
Remote code execution in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 is achievable by any user holding the nx-datastores-update permissi
Insufficient session expiration in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows a previously-authenticated user to retain full rep
Authorization bypass in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3's component upload API lets an account holding only read/browse priv
Script execution enforcement failure in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows privileged authenticated users to invoke pre-
Incorrect authorization in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows a low-privileged user holding the `nexus:blobstores:create
Unverified password change in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows any account holding the nexus:* permission to overwrite
Stored XSS in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 enables an authenticated user holding blob store management permissions to inj
The webhook shared secret stored in Nexus Repository 3's capability configuration is returned unmasked via the capabilit
JEXL expression sandbox bypass in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3's Content Selector feature allows authenticated users hold
Scheduled task configuration overwrite in Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 enables a low-privileged authenticated user - hold
Same technique Privilege Escalation
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-54522
GHSA-ghg9-vwgf-3fv8