Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution via Backup Restore in nginx-ui

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-42238
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-05-04 21:16:32 UTC
Updated2026-05-05 20:16:56 UTC
DescriptionNginx UI is a web user interface for the Nginx web server. Prior to version 2.3.8, nginx-ui exposes a backup restore endpoint (POST /api/restore) that is completely unauthenticated during the first 10 minutes after process startup on any fresh installation. An unauthenticated remote attacker can upload a crafted backup archive that overwrites the application's configuration file (app.ini) and SQLite database. Because the attacker controls the restored app.ini, they can inject an arbitrary OS command into the TestConfigCmd setting. After the application automatically restarts to apply the restored config, a single follow-up request triggers that command as the user running nginx-ui — typically root in Docker deployments. This issue has been patched in version 2.3.8.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v4.0 9 CRITICAL from [email protected]

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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

EPSS: 0.002300000 probability, percentile 0.455640000 (date 2026-05-05)

Problem Types: CWE-94 | CWE-94 CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
4.0[email protected]Secondary9CRITICALCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/C...
4.0CNADECLARED9CRITICALCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

CVSS v4.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Passive
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Sub Conf.
High
Sub Integrity
High
Sub Availability
High

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA 0xJacky Nginx-ui affected < 2.3.8 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/security/advisories/GHSA-4pvg-prr3-9cxr 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 github.com
github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/releases/tag/v2.3.8 [email protected] github.com
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