Nginx-UI: Authenticated settings disclosure exposes node.secret and enables trusted-node authentication abuse, backup exfiltration, and restore-based nginx-ui state rollback

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

6.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-42220: 0.30% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 22.67 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary An authenticated user can call GET /api/settings and retrieve sensitive configuration values, including node.secret. The same node.secret is accepted by AuthRequired() through the X-Node-Secret header (or nodesecret query parameter), causing the request to be treated as authenticated via the trusted-node path and associated with the init user. In my local reproduction on v2.3.6, GET /api/settings also returned app.jwtsecret. After extracting node.secret, I was able to access GET /api/backup using only X-Node-Secret, download a full backup archive, and obtain the X-Backup-Security response header containing the backup decryption material (AESKey:AESIv). I also confirmed that the disclosed node.secret is sufficient to reach the restore workflow on an installed instance. Using only X-Node-Secret, a valid backup archive, and its matching X-Backup-Security token, I successfully invoked POST /api/restore. In a follow-up rollback test, I changed node.name to rollback-poc-B, then…

Published by the source

5 May 2026, 20:49 UTC

Last modified by the source

5 May 2026, 20:49 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-7jrr-xw9c-mj39

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-42220

Advisory: Nginx-UI: Authenticated settings disclosure exposes node.secret and enables trusted-node authentication abuse, backup exfiltration, and restore-based nginx-ui state rollback
IDs: CVE-2026-42220, GHSA-7jrr-xw9c-mj39
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-42220 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor response not established. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI: affected <= 1.9.9

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7jrr-xw9c-mj39 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-7jrr-xw9c-mj39 lists affected ranges: Go github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI >=0 <=1.9.9)

Commands are suggestions: review each one before running it.