Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify authenticated Nagios admin target
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DeliveryCraft request with self-supplied matching CSRF cookie and parameter
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ExploitDeliver malicious link via phishing or watering hole
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ExecutionAdmin clicks link with active session
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PersistBrowser submits forged request; CSRF validation passes on matching pair
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ImpactNagios executes command as authenticated admin
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V3 - Web Frontend Security Anti-CSRF tokens, SameSite cookies
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | The victim must be an authenticated Nagios Core or Nagios XI user with sufficient privileges to execute the targeted command (e.g., administrator or operator role). Active user interaction is required: the victim must follow a malicious link or visit an attacker-controlled page while their Nagios session is active. The core enabling condition is the absence of server-side CSRF token validation - the bypass works against any default Nagios installation using the double-submit cookie mechanism, with no special server-side configuration required beyond a standard install. Exploitation is limited by the mandatory social-engineering step (UI:A), the need for the victim to have an active, authenticated session at the time of the attack, and any network-level controls (firewall rules, VPN requirements) that restrict access to the Nagios web interface. SameSite cookie enforcement at the web server or proxy layer, if already in place, would independently block the cross-origin submission and constitute a hard exploitation barrier. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N) scores 6.1, reflecting that no attacker privileges are needed and complexity is low, but active victim interaction (UI:A) is a hard prerequisite. The absence of any CISA KEV listing and no identified public proof-of-concept code suggests this has not been widely weaponized at time of analysis. The SI:H (high integrity impact on subsequent systems) metric is the dominant risk signal: successful exploitation allows arbitrary Nagios commands to run as the authenticated user, which can disable host/service monitoring, suppress alerting, schedule unauthorized downtime, or trigger active check scripts against monitored infrastructure. The real-world priority is elevated for organizations whose Nagios web interfaces are reachable from the internet or from untrusted internal segments, and where administrators regularly use the interface without strict browser controls. For air-gapped or strictly access-controlled deployments, the practical risk is materially lower. EPSS data was not provided in source intelligence; active exploitation is unconfirmed. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker identifies an organization running an internet-accessible Nagios Core or Nagios XI instance and sends a phishing email to a known Nagios administrator containing a link to a malicious page. The malicious page silently submits a forged HTTP request to the Nagios interface carrying attacker-controlled, pre-matched cookie and CSRF parameter values; because the double-submit validation accepts any matching pair regardless of origin, the CSRF check passes and Nagios executes the embedded command - such as disabling all host notifications - under the administrator's session. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, but the bypass mechanism is straightforward for any attacker familiar with CSRF double-submit cookie weaknesses. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 12, 2026
Cross-site request forgery protection bypass in Nagios Core (before 4.5.14) and Nagios XI (before 2026R1.7) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute monitoring commands with the privileges of authenticated users by exploiting a flawed double-submit cookie implementation. The CSRF defense can be entirely circumvented by supplying self-crafted, matching cookie and request parameter values - no server-validated token is required - enabling command execution via maliciously crafted links sent to authenticated administrators. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and no CISA KEV listing exists, but the low attack complexity and broad target population make this a meaningful risk for any externally reachable Nagios deployment.
RemediationAI
Upgrade Nagios Core to version 4.5.14 or later and Nagios XI to version 2026R1.7 or later; patch availability is confirmed by the vendor advisory at https://www.nagios.com/security-disclosures/nagios-core/. As a compensating control prior to patching, restrict access to the Nagios web interface to trusted IP ranges or require VPN access, which eliminates the network attack surface for externally delivered malicious links - note this does not protect against internal threat actors. Additionally, enforcing SameSite=Strict on session and CSRF cookies (if configurable at the reverse proxy layer) would block cross-origin cookie submission and mitigate exploitation without requiring application changes, though this may break legitimate cross-origin workflows. Educating Nagios administrators to treat unsolicited links with suspicion provides marginal but non-zero benefit. The VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/nagios-core-xi-csrf-protection-bypass-via-double-submit-cookie provides additional technical detail.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 2 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The double-submit cookie pattern is a CSRF mitigation that requires a random token to appear identically in both a browser cookie and a request parameter (form field or URL param). The server validates the match but - critically in this implementation - does not verify the token was server-generated or tied to the session. By CWE-352 classification, the server fails to distinguish a legitimate token from one entirely supplied by the attacker. Because the cookie value is never bound to a server-side session, an attacker who can cause a victim's browser to submit matching cookie and parameter values (for example via a crafted cross-origin form submission or cookie injection on a sibling domain) satisfies the CSRF check without any prior authentication. Both Nagios Core and Nagios XI are affected per CPE identifiers cpe:2.3:a:nagios_enterprises,_llc.:nagios_core:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and cpe:2.3:a:nagios_enterprises,_llc.:nagios_xi:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, encompassing all versions prior to the respective patch releases.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:H/SA:N
Network-based CSRF with no attacker privileges; mandatory victim interaction (UI:R); scope change (S:C) and high subsequent-system integrity impact reflect unauthorized command execution as legitimate admin.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
DescriptionCVE.org
Nagios Core before 4.5.14 and Nagios XI before 2026R1.7 contain a cross-site request forgery protection bypass via a self-supplied double-submit cookie. An attacker can supply matching cookie and request parameter values to bypass CSRF protection, enabling unauthenticated attackers to run commands as authorized users via malicious links.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Cross-Site Request Forgery exploits the automatic credential inclusion behavior of web browsers.
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EUVD-2026-57326
GHSA-4f3c-j3m4-8h7h
NVD
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EPSS
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