CVE-2026-42221

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

“—” beside the score: it is equal to NVD's CVSS score.

This critical-severity CVE scores 9.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 1.3% (71st percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). GitHub Security Advisory CVSS 8.1 is lower than this score; a lower GitHub score revises it only when its advisory is newer than the CVE record's last change, and this advisory (published 2026-05-06) is not newer than that change (2026-10-26), so it does not.

Triggered by: Headline CVSS from NVD CVSS v3
Sources: EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3
Elevated

Also known asEUVD-2026-27135 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp (GitHub Security Advisories) · GO-2026-5412 (OSV.dev)Source: ENISA EUVD

9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixRemediate within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high (the SSVC decision on this page).
  • CISA's Vulnrichment rates exploitation as PoC; EchelonGraph holds no exploit-code reference for it
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 1.3%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: No code on recordExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

Nginx UI is a web user interface for the Nginx web server. From version 2.0.0 to before version 2.3.8, an unauthenticated network attacker can claim the initial administrator account on a fresh nginx-ui instance during the first-run setup window. The public /api/install endpoint is reachable without authentication, and the request-encryption flow only protects payload confidentiality in transit; it does not authenticate who is allowed to perform installation. A remote attacker who reaches the service before the legitimate operator can set the admin email, username, and password, causing permanent initial-instance takeover. This issue has been patched in version 2.3.8.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8CRITICALmedium confidence
EG Risk
60
EG Risk 60/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity98% × 45%
Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 9.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.
Exploitation40% × 40%
EchelonGraph's fixed weight for EG-KEV Tier 3 (Elevated): a constant, not a probability.
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low, Track* at medium and Attend at high mission impact.
Exploitation public PoC (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
EPSS PROB
1.3%
EPSS %ILE
71st
KEV
Not listed

What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)

The EG score (9.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.

EG Severity
9.8 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
EG Likelihood
1.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-13). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
Confirmed exploitation
None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
EG Priority
SSVC Track* at medium mission impactTrack at low, Track* at medium and Attend at high mission impact.CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low, Track* at medium and Attend at high mission impact.

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.

Exploitation public PoC (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.

The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

Published

May 4, 2026

Last Modified

October 26, 2026

Advisory Details (2)

Auto-updated Nov 2, 2026
🔬 Proof of concept available. Patch available. Sources: github_release, github.
GitHub advisoryMentions a patch (unverified)🟡 PoC Available

Unauthenticated First-Run Installer Allows Remote Initial Admin Claim · Advisory · 0xJacky/nginx-ui · GitHub

https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/security/advisories/GHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp
GitHub release Patch Available

v2.3.8

Patch available: 0xJacky/nginx-ui v2.3.8

https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/releases/tag/v2.3.8

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-42221(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Patch Availability(1)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
gogithub.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI @ 2.3.8 (fixes >= 2.0.0, <= 2.3.5)—ghsa

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Go(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI—
  • 2.0.0 up to 2.3.8: fixed in 2.3.8
  • every version on: no fix on record
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 14× in last 7d / 45× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed its CVE.org record (CNA or CISA ADP). An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). "EchelonGraph re-scored" is our own recompute of this CVE's score, not an update from a source, and is not counted in the refreshes above. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 240 rows on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. None are among the latest 100 rows. The 140 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-11-13 17:38 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  2. 2026-11-13 17:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  3. 2026-11-13 16:52 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  4. 2026-11-12 17:07 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  5. 2026-11-12 17:07 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  6. 2026-11-12 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  7. 2026-11-11 17:15 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  8. 2026-11-11 17:15 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  9. 2026-11-11 16:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  10. 2026-11-10 17:24 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  11. 2026-11-10 17:24 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  12. 2026-11-10 16:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  13. 2026-11-09 17:33 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  14. 2026-11-09 17:33 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  15. 2026-11-09 16:35 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  16. 2026-11-08 17:42 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  17. 2026-11-08 17:42 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  18. 2026-11-08 16:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  19. 2026-11-07 17:50 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  20. 2026-11-07 17:50 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  21. 2026-11-07 16:39 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  22. 2026-11-06 17:59 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  23. 2026-11-06 17:59 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  24. 2026-11-06 16:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  25. 2026-11-06 08:25 UTCOSV refresh
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-11-05 18:09 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  2. 2026-11-05 18:09 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  3. 2026-11-05 16:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  4. 2026-11-04 18:17 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  5. 2026-11-04 18:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  6. 2026-11-04 16:35 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  7. 2026-11-03 18:25 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  8. 2026-11-03 18:25 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  9. 2026-11-03 16:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  10. 2026-11-02 18:30 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  11. 2026-11-02 18:30 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  12. 2026-11-02 16:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  13. 2026-11-01 18:38 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  14. 2026-11-01 18:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  15. 2026-11-01 07:50 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-h27v-ph7w-m9fp · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.1
  16. 2026-11-01 07:50 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  17. 2026-10-31 18:48 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  18. 2026-10-31 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  19. 2026-10-30 18:57 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  20. 2026-10-30 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  21. 2026-10-29 19:06 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  22. 2026-10-29 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  23. 2026-10-28 19:14 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  24. 2026-10-28 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  25. 2026-10-27 19:20 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  26. 2026-10-27 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  27. 2026-10-26 19:30 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored▲ 1.70
  28. 2026-10-26 19:26 UTCNVD updateCVSS v3 → 9.8 · severity → CRITICAL
  29. 2026-10-26 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  30. 2026-10-25 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.3% · 71st percentile
  31. 2026-10-25 14:29 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  32. 2026-10-24 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  33. 2026-10-24 11:47 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  34. 2026-10-23 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  35. 2026-10-22 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  36. 2026-10-21 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  37. 2026-10-20 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  38. 2026-10-19 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  39. 2026-10-18 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  40. 2026-10-18 03:41 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  41. 2026-10-17 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  42. 2026-10-17 14:29 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  43. 2026-10-16 16:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  44. 2026-10-15 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  45. 2026-10-14 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  46. 2026-10-13 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  47. 2026-10-12 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  48. 2026-10-12 16:07 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  49. 2026-10-11 19:49 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  50. 2026-10-11 17:03 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  51. 2026-10-11 14:29 UTCEchelonGraph re-scored
  52. 2026-10-11 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  53. 2026-10-10 20:00 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  54. 2026-10-09 20:07 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  55. 2026-10-08 17:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  56. 2026-10-07 23:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  57. 2026-10-06 15:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  58. 2026-10-05 17:43 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 75th percentile
  59. 2026-10-03 14:25 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 74th percentile
  60. 2026-10-01 19:50 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 74th percentile
  61. 2026-09-30 15:03 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 74th percentile
  62. 2026-09-30 10:47 UTCOSV refresh
  63. 2026-09-27 13:48 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 74th percentile
  64. 2026-09-26 15:58 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.6% · 74th percentile
  65. 2026-09-23 17:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  66. 2026-09-20 20:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  67. 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  68. 2026-09-17 19:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  69. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  70. 2026-09-16 05:15 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  71. 2026-09-13 16:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  72. 2026-09-12 15:01 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  73. 2026-09-11 17:40 UTCOSV refresh
  74. 2026-09-11 14:53 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile
  75. 2026-09-11 09:37 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 1.2% · 65th percentile

Public detection templates

(1 reference)

A public Nuclei detection template is referenced for this CVE. A detection template checks whether a system is affected; it is not necessarily exploit code.

  • Nucleihttp/cves/2026/CVE-2026-42221.yaml
    Published Sep 7, 2026

    Nginx UI <= 2.3.7 - Unauthenticated Installer Exposure

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-42221?
CVE-2026-42221 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on May 4, 2026. Nginx UI is a web user interface for the Nginx web server. From version 2.0.0 to before version 2.3.8, an unauthenticated network attacker can claim the initial administrator account on a fresh nginx-ui instance during the first-run setup window. The public /api/install endpoint is reachable…
When was the CVE record for CVE-2026-42221 published?
The CVE record for CVE-2026-42221 was published on May 4, 2026. That is the record's publication date; the vulnerability itself may have been made public earlier. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of October 26, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2026-42221 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-42221 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 1.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (71st percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-42221?
CVE-2026-42221 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-42221?
A fix for CVE-2026-42221 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory. The vendor advisories EchelonGraph has for CVE-2026-42221 are linked in the Vendor Advisories panel on this page.

Dependency Blast Radius

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