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CVE-2026-42238 Detail

Description

Nginx 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.


Metrics

NVD enrichment efforts reference publicly available information to associate vector strings. CVSS information contributed by other sources is also displayed.
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:

NIST CVSS score
NIST: NVD
N/A
NVD assessment not yet provided.

Nist CVSS score does not match with CNA score
CNA:  GitHub, Inc.
CVSS-B 9.0 CRITICAL
Vector:  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

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

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URL Source(s) Tag(s)
https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/releases/tag/v2.3.8 GitHub, Inc. Release Notes 
https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/security/advisories/GHSA-4pvg-prr3-9cxr CISA-ADP, GitHub, Inc. Exploit  Vendor Advisory 

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-ID CWE Name Source
CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') GitHub, Inc.  

Known Affected Software Configurations Switch to CPE 2.2

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Change History

3 change records found show changes

Quick Info

CVE Dictionary Entry:
CVE-2026-42238
NVD Published Date:
05/04/2026
NVD Last Modified:
05/06/2026
Source:
GitHub, Inc.