Attackers Chain JFrog Artifactory Flaws to Gain Admin Control and Plant Backdoors
Attackers chained JFrog Artifactory flaws CVE-2026-42018 and CVE-2026-42016 for admin control, planting Rust backdoors; CVE-2026-82329 also mass-exploited.
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CVE-2026-42016
Token Scope Validation Flaw Enables Privilege Escalation in JFrog Artifactory
CISA: JFrog Artifactory Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 high
- EPSS
- 9%p95
- Published
- ·
- Added to KEV
AI analysisSummaries by Vani AI
JFrog Artifactory (Self-Hosted) versions before 7.133.11 fail to validate a token's scope, checking only the token's signature and issuer, which constitutes an incorrect authorization flaw (CWE-863). A remote, authenticated user with low privileges can obtain or present a token whose scope is never verified, bypassing authorization checks and escalating to higher privileges. Successful attackers gain administrative control of the Artifactory instance; in observed attacks this flaw has been chained with CVE-2026-42018 and CVE-2026-82329 to bypass authentication, take admin control, and deploy backdoor malware. Only self-hosted Artifactory deployments are within the stated affected scope. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild and the vulnerability was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2026-09-11, although no public proof-of-concept code is known.
What to do: Upgrade self-hosted Artifactory to version 7.133.11 or later immediately, in line with vendor instructions and CISA KEV/BOD 26-04 timelines. Audit issued tokens and logs for tokens carrying elevated scope granted to low-privilege users, and look for signs of compromise such as unexpected admin accounts or persistence, given reported backdoor deployments. Also patch CVE-2026-42018 and CVE-2026-82329, which attackers are chaining with this flaw.
| Product | Affected |
|---|---|
| JFrog Artifactory (Self-Hosted) | All versions before 7.133.11 |
Estimated exposure
largetens of thousands of self-hosted instances (subset internet-exposed) — Artifactory is one of the most widely deployed binary repository managers among enterprise development teams, but the affected scope is limited to self-hosted installations, of which only a portion are internet-exposed, supporting an…
Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.
Description · NVD
JFrog Artifactory (Self Hosted) versions before 7.133.11 are vulnerable to a privilege escalation attack due to a validation check of the token signature/issuer and not the token’s scope.
KEVCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
- Affected
- JFrog Artifactory
- Required action
- Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.
- Due date
- Ransomware use
- Unknown
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