Nginx-UI Settings API Exposes Protected Secrets

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-2026-42223: 0.29% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 22.26 (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 The GetSettings API handler (api/settings/settings.go:24-65) serializes all settings structs to JSON and returns them to authenticated users. Many sensitive fields are tagged with protected:"true" - however, this tag is only enforced during writes (via ProtectedFill in SaveSettings) and is completely ignored during reads. This exposes 40+ protected fields including JwtSecret (enabling auth token forgery), NodeSecret (enabling cluster node impersonation), OIDC ClientSecret (enabling OAuth account takeover), and the IP whitelist configuration. Details Vulnerable Code api/settings/settings.go:49-64 - GetSettings serializes all fields Go's json.Marshal serializes all exported fields with json: tags. The protected:"true" struct tag is a custom tag - it has no effect on JSON serialization. Protection is Write-Only api/settings/settings.go:126-135 - ProtectedFill only used during saves ProtectedFill prevents overwriting protected fields during SaveSettings, but GetSettings has no…

Published by the source

6 May 2026, 17:01 UTC

Last modified by the source

6 May 2026, 17:01 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:19 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-q4w7-56hr-83rm

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-42223

Advisory: Nginx-UI Settings API Exposes Protected Secrets
IDs: CVE-2026-42223, GHSA-q4w7-56hr-83rm
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-42223 (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 fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui 2.3.8. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui: affected <= 2.3.7; fixed in 2.3.8

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

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## 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-q4w7-56hr-83rm (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-q4w7-56hr-83rm lists affected ranges: Go github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui >=0 <=2.3.7)

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