Multiple attackers are exploiting three JFrog Artifactory CVEs, including critical auth-bypass CVE-2026-82329, to gain admin access and install backdoors.
Wiz confirmed in-the-wild exploitation of all three JFrog Artifactory vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-42018 (high, improper authentication token leak), CVE-2026-42016 (high, privilege escalation), and CVE-2026-82329 (critical, unauthenticated authentication bypass). Starting August 15, attackers chained the first two bugs against self-hosted instances to gain admin access and dropped a custom Rust backdoor for C2; from September 1-8 several attackers exploited CVE-2026-82329. Post-exploitation included persistent admin accounts, Groovy plugins for remote code execution, web shells, token minting, key theft, and reconnaissance. Patching velocity has been slow, with 49-62% of organizations still vulnerable to individual bugs weeks after fixes were released.
GitLab patched CVE-2026-85706, a CVSS 10.0 unauthenticated path traversal enabling arbitrary file reads, already probed in the wild.
GitLab released patches for a maximum-severity path traversal flaw (CVE-2026-85706, CVSS 10.0) in the repository commits API, caused by improper path confinement and missing authentication enforcement, allowing unauthenticated arbitrary file reads. watchTowr observed active in-the-wild probes starting 06:00 UTC on September 11, 2026; exploitation requires at least one public project and enables theft of credentials, secrets, and configuration data. GitLab also patched CVE-2026-87719 (CVSS 9.9), an insecure deserialization bug in Enterprise Edition allowing authenticated Duo Chat users to access Advanced Search configurations and sensitive credentials via crafted GraphQL subscription arguments. Affected versions include 18.7 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2, and the flaw follows the recently exploited GraphQL code injection bug CVE-2026-19478.
Attackers chain JFrog Artifactory flaws CVE-2026-42018 and CVE-2026-42016 to gain admin tokens and deploy a Rust backdoor on self-hosted servers.
Wiz observed multiple threat actors chaining CVE-2026-42018 and CVE-2026-42016 against self-hosted JFrog Artifactory instances between August 15 and September 8, 2026, in some cases obtaining admin access in under five minutes. The critical authentication bypass CVE-2026-82329 was also exploited this month to mint administrator tokens. Attackers installed malicious Groovy plugins, dropped a Rust backdoor with C2 capabilities, uploaded webshells, stole configuration data and cluster join keys, and added SSH keys to new accounts. Wiz estimates 49-62% of internet-reachable Artifactory instances are vulnerable to at least one of the three flaws, and patched releases from 7.111.21 through 7.161.20 are available.
WatchTowr observed in-the-wild exploitation of critical GitLab path traversal CVE-2026-85706 one day after disclosure, letting unauthenticated attackers read arbitrary files.
WatchTowr detected the first in-the-wild probes for CVE-2026-85706 (CVSS 10.0), an unauthenticated path traversal in GitLab CE/EE that allows arbitrary file reads via a single HTTP request, and warns mass exploitation is likely. Affected versions include 18.7 before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2. The fresh patches also fix 17 other vulnerabilities, including CVE-2026-87719 (CVSS 9.9), an insecure deserialization flaw in the GraphQL subscription serializer exposing Advanced Search credentials, plus six high-severity bugs enabling RCE, CI/CD variable access, XSS, and denial of service.
GreyNoise says a Russian-speaking actor used AI to build and deploy exploits hitting 440 PaperCut NG/MF deployments across 395 organizations in 48 countries.
Two PaperCut NG/MF zero-days, CVE-2026-82078 and CVE-2026-81578, disclosed August 27 and patched August 28, enable unauthenticated authentication bypass and remote code execution. GreyNoise observed a Russian-speaking threat actor using AI to orchestrate attacks against 440 deployments in 48 countries, including 204 education-sector organizations, achieving domain admin at 12 victims. Attack paths included harvesting LSASS memory and registry secrets, mounted NoPac attacks, and adding accounts to Domain Admins, with AI automation shortening compromises to minutes or seconds.
Two actively exploited SonicWall SMA 1000 zero-days chain to unauthenticated RCE; patches released and CISA added both to KEV.
SonicWall disclosed and patched two zero-days in SMA 1000 appliances: CVE-2026-83548, a maximum-severity pre-authentication SSRF, and CVE-2026-83549, a high-severity OS command injection. Rapid7 said chaining the flaws yields unauthenticated remote code execution, and CISA added both to its KEV catalog Wednesday. The vendor provided no IOCs or victim counts, urging customers to hunt for compromise, reimage or redeploy appliances, and reset all passwords and tokens. The product has faced repeated exploitation, including ransomware-linked flaws used by INC and Akira.
CISA added the actively exploited JFrog Artifactory flaw CVE-2026-82329 (CVSS 9.8) to its KEV catalog; unauthenticated attackers gain admin access.
CISA added CVE-2026-82329, a critical improper authentication flaw in JFrog Artifactory, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog with a September 5, 2026 patch deadline. The CVSS v3.1 9.8 flaw allows unauthenticated attackers with network access to obtain administrative privileges under the default configuration. WatchTowr honeypot data shows attackers minting administrator tokens, enumerating users, groups, and federated access topologies, and in some cases creating backdoor users for persistence. Users must upgrade to Artifactory 7.161.20 or the applicable fixed release; Qualys detects vulnerable assets via QID 735249.
CISA added seven actively exploited vulnerabilities to its KEV catalog, including SonicWall SMA 1000 SSRF CVE-2026-83548, amid campaigns deploying reverse shells and crypto miners.
CISA's KEV additions cover flaws in SonicWall SMA 1000 (CVE-2026-83548, CVE-2026-83549), Sangoma Switchvox (CVE-2026-9586), JFrog Artifactory (CVE-2026-82329), Kludex Starlette (CVE-2026-48710), Kestra OSS (CVE-2026-49869) and Berri LiteLLM's MCP endpoint (CVE-2026-59822). SonicWall confirmed active exploitation of the SMA 1000 flaws, while Microsoft and Wiz reported attackers chaining LiteLLM flaws CVE-2026-42271 and CVE-2026-48710 to fingerprint hosts, steal provider API keys and deploy XMRig miners on AI infrastructure. Wiz linked exploitation of the LiteLLM chain to the Qilin ransomware group, and Microsoft detailed a Kestra compromise chain ending in cryptocurrency mining and data harvesting via exposed RAGFlow flaws.
Attackers chain PaperCut NG/MF flaws CVE-2026-81578 and CVE-2026-82078 for unauthenticated RCE; exploitation observed and a second emergency patch issued.
Two flaws in PaperCut NG and MF — CVE-2026-81578 (CVSS 8.8, improper access control enabling auth bypass) and CVE-2026-82078 (CVSS 9.4, unsafe dynamic class loading) — are being chained for unauthenticated remote code execution. Huntress observed limited exploitation on two customer environments, including Base64-encoded commands, 'whoami & ver' fingerprinting, SimpleHelp execution, and AnyDesk installation for persistence. PaperCut released a second emergency patch for v24, v25, and v26, but watchTowr reports additional patch bypasses may still affect the latest version. Shared IoCs include crafted jdbc strings in server.log and attacker-written .class/.cmd files.
US agencies warn of AI-assisted attacks on exposed Siemens PLCs; the week also saw GitLab CVE-2026-19478 exploited and trojanized npm packages found.
The weekly recap leads with a US government warning that threat actors use AI-generated scripts and Censys/ZoomEye scanning to attack internet-exposed Siemens S7 PLCs in water, energy and manufacturing, calling it an active threat. Other stories include active exploitation of GitLab CVE-2026-19478 (CVSS 9.4, unauthenticated project rewriting), 14 trojanized npm packages delivering the RedC2 4.0 Linux backdoor, and the Zombie Card attack that revives expired Visa cards for contactless payment fraud. It also covers suspected Russian clusters UNC6293, UNC7005 and UNC5976 phishing campaigns, a faster Cloudflare Workers Spectre JWT leak, and a bespoke Cl0p JSP web shell deployed after exploiting PTC Windchill flaws.
GitLab emergency-patches actively exploited flaw CVE-2026-19478 (CVSS 9.4), letting unauthenticated attackers modify or delete public projects on self-managed servers.
GitLab emergency-patched CVE-2026-19478 (CVSS 9.4) on August 17 after WatchTowr researchers warned of active exploitation. The flaw lets unauthenticated attackers remotely modify or delete public projects and user data through a GraphQL directive, affecting only self-managed installations. Fixes ship in versions 19.2.4, 19.1.6, 19.0.8, and 18.11.11; the 18.2-18.10 branches receive no patch and must upgrade. Until patching, defenders should restrict unauthenticated access to /api/graphql, disable public repositories, and hunt for @gl_introduced in logs.
Unauthenticated attackers are actively exploiting GitLab CVE-2026-19478 (CVSS 9.4) to modify or delete public projects days after disclosure.
GitLab CVE-2026-19478, a CVSS 9.4 code injection flaw exploitable via a GraphQL directive without authentication, allows attackers to modify or delete publicly accessible projects, rewrite repository data, forge merge records, and ban maintainers. Affected versions include GitLab CE/EE 18.2 before 18.11.11, 19.0 before 19.0.8, 19.1 before 19.1.6, and 19.2 before 19.2.4. watchTowr reproduced the flaw within minutes of disclosure and observed in-the-wild exploitation against its honeypot network. Fixes shipped in 19.2.4, 19.1.6, 19.0.8, and 18.11.11; interim mitigations include restricting unauthenticated access to /api/graphql or removing public repository access.
Attackers exploit MLflow SSRF CVE-2026-64849 (CVSS 9.3) to steal cloud credentials; CISA added it to KEV; FUXA flaw CVE-2026-25895 is being scanned.
watchTowr observed exploitation of MLflow CVE-2026-64849, an unauthenticated SSRF (CVSS 9.3) affecting versions below 3.15.0, within hours of CVE assignment on August 17, 2026, with attackers abusing model-registry webhooks to reach cloud metadata endpoints and exfiltrate credentials and secrets. CISA added the flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on August 19, 2026, with a September 2 patch deadline for federal civilian agencies. VulnCheck reported scanning of FUXA CVE-2026-25895 (missing authentication plus path traversal, CVSS 9.5, versions through 1.2.9) beginning August 18; about 60 FUXA instances are exposed and no RCE payloads have been dropped yet.
Weekly recap: suspected China-nexus APT exploited VMware vCenter CVE-2026-59310, Lazarus used Windows zero-day CVE-2026-68820, and macOS flaw dropped Monero miners.
The week's top stories included a suspected China-nexus APT exploiting VMware vCenter CVE-2026-59310 (CVSS 9.8), a directory-traversal flaw enabling arbitrary code execution, with backdoors, reverse SSH and Babuk-derived ransomware deployed, per QUIRSO. NCSC-NL reported active exploitation of macOS Screen Sharing flaw CVE-2026-65400 (CVSS 9.8) to install Monero miners on systems with port 5900 exposed. Lazarus Group exploited Windows zero-day CVE-2026-68820 (CVSS 7.0) in Operation Dream Job, delivering ForestTiger and Troy backdoors to defense and aerospace targets. GeoServer patched a critical SQL injection flaw exploited within hours of disclosure, and Jamf analyzed the new Amnesia Stealer for macOS with live browser control.
A CVSS 9.8 SQL injection zero-day in GeoServer's PostGIS datastore enables RCE and drew active exploitation; fixes shipped in versions 3.0.1, 2.28.5, 2.27.6.
A SQL injection flaw in GeoServer's jsonArrayContains function within the GeoTools PostGIS datastore (GHSA-mqjf-5f49-2fjh, CVSS 9.8) was disclosed August 12, 2026, and saw hundreds of exploitation attempts within hours per watchTowr. An attacker-controlled value is interpolated into a PostgreSQL jsonb_path_exists() expression without escaping; with superuser or pg_execute_server_program privileges it escalates to OS command execution via WFS 1.0. GeoServer released versions 3.0.1, 2.28.5, and 2.27.6, and the flaw is a regression of CVE-2023-25158. GeoServer has a history of mass exploitation, including CVE-2024-36401 used for botnets and proxies.
Unpatched GeoServer zero-day enabling SQL injection and possible RCE is being actively probed across exposed systems.
A zero-day in GeoServer's jsonArrayContains functionality allows unauthorized SQL injection and, in some configurations, remote code execution. Disclosed on August 12, 2026 without a CVE ID, it drew hundreds of exploitation probes from watchTowr within hours. No patch is available yet; GeoServer was previously mass-exploited via CVE-2024-36401.
WatchTowr observed active exploitation of SharePoint RCE CVE-2026-50522 (CVSS 9.8), part of an ongoing wave of exploited on-prem SharePoint flaws patched by Microsoft.
On 14 July 2026 Microsoft released updates for critical SharePoint Server RCE flaws, including CVE-2026-50522 (CVSS 9.8), a deserialisation vulnerability possibly exploitable without authentication. On 20 July 2026 WatchTowr published PoC exploit code and observed active exploitation of CVE-2026-50522, prompting CISA to urge SharePoint hardening. The advisory also covers recently fixed SharePoint flaws: CVE-2026-32201 (6.5, spoofing), CVE-2026-45659 (8.8, authenticated RCE), CVE-2026-56164 (9.8, unauthenticated privilege escalation), and CVE-2026-58644 (9.8, unauthenticated RCE). Affected products include SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, 2019, and Enterprise Server 2016; CERT-EU recommends immediate patching, credential rotation, and compromise assessments.
Improper Authentication in JFrog Artifactory Allows Unauthenticated Admin Access
JFrog Artifactory contains an improper authentication flaw (CWE-287) that, under the product's default configuration, can let an unauthenticated attacker with network access obtain administrative privileges. The weakness is reachable over the network with no privileges or user interaction required, which is why it carries a critical 9.8 CVSS 3.1 score; an attacker who succeeds effectively gains full administrator control of the artifact repository, and public reporting describes attackers using the flaw to mint admin tokens days after disclosure. Any organization running JFrog Artifactory is in scope — CISA's entry lists the product without version detail, so deployments should verify their versions against JFrog's advisory (AV26-867, Update 1) — with internet-exposed instances at greatest risk. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added the CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 2026-09-02, a public proof-of-concept is available, and news headlines report active exploitation alongside related Artifactory flaws CVE-2026-42016 and CVE-2026-42018.
Unauthenticated GraphQL Code Injection in GitLab CE/EE Enables Data Tampering
GitLab has patched a critical (CVSS 9.1) code injection flaw (CWE-94) in how GitLab Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE) process GraphQL directives. Under certain conditions, an unauthenticated remote attacker can abuse a GraphQL directive to modify or delete public projects and user data on affected instances, requiring no privileges or user interaction; the impact is to integrity and availability, not confidentiality. Affected versions span all GitLab CE/EE releases from 18.2 before 18.11.11, 19.0 before 19.0.8, 19.1 before 19.1.6, and 19.2 before 19.2.4, which covers self-managed installations as well as the same codebase that powers the GitLab.com SaaS. News reports indicate the flaw came under active exploitation within days of disclosure, and EPSS assigns a 5.8% probability of exploitation within 30 days (93rd percentile). It is not yet listed in CISA's KEV catalog and no public proof-of-concept is known, but defenders should treat it as an actively exploited, unauthenticated, high-impact issue.
· GitLab CE all versions from 18.2 before 18.11.11, 19.0 before 19.0.8, 19.1 before 19.1.6, and 19.2 before 19.2.4 · GitLab EE all versions from 18.2 before 18.11.11, 19.0 before 19.0.8, 19.1 before 19.1.6, and 19.2 before 19.2.4mass
Unauthenticated Path Traversal Arbitrary File Read in GitLab CE/EE
CVE-2026-85706 is a path traversal flaw (CWE-35) in GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition in which the repository commits API does not properly confine file paths and does not enforce authentication, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to read arbitrary files from the GitLab server. It is triggered by sending a crafted unauthenticated request to the commits API that supplies traversal sequences moving outside the intended repository path. An attacker gains the ability to read arbitrary files on the host, which can expose configuration files, certificates, and stored credentials or keys; related reporting on the recent GitLab patch wave also notes credential theft and code execution flaws, though this CVE itself is the file-read issue. All self-managed GitLab CE and EE deployments are in scope, and CISA did not publish specific affected version ranges in this data. The flaw was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2026-09-11 and is being actively probed and exploited in the wild within a day of disclosure, with three public proof-of-concept repositories available; ransomware use is not yet confirmed.
Pre-Authentication SSRF in SonicWall SMA1000 Appliance Workplace Interface
CVE-2026-83548 is a critical (CVSS 3.1 score 10.0) server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the Workplace interface of SonicWall SMA1000 appliances, caused by an unintended alternate access path (unprotected alternate channel, CWE-441; SSRF, CWE-918). Because it is pre-authentication, any remote unauthenticated attacker who can reach the interface can trigger it and gain unauthorized access to sensitive functionality and perform unauthorized operations. CISA lists all SonicWall SMA1000 appliances as affected, with CPE data naming the SMA 8200v and SMA 6210/7210 firmware; internet-exposed units are at highest risk. The flaw is being actively exploited in the wild: it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-09-02 alongside companion zero-day CVE-2026-83549, which reporting suggests may form an attack chain with this SSRF. Exploitation probability is elevated (EPSS 4.7%, 91st percentile) and no public proof-of-concept is known.
Unauthenticated RCE in OSGeo GeoServer via GeoTools XPath Injection
OSGeo GeoServer ships the GeoTools library, which evaluates feature property names directly as XPath expressions without proper neutralization (CWE-95), so attacker-supplied input is executed as code rather than treated as data. A remote, unauthenticated attacker triggers the flaw by sending specially crafted requests to a GeoServer service, causing the injected expression to be evaluated in the server's context. Successful exploitation results in remote code execution on the host running GeoServer, giving the attacker control over the mapping server and any data or credentials it can reach. Any organization running GeoServer is affected, and the underlying GeoTools flaw also extends to dependent applications such as GeoNetwork, which shipped its own fix for an unauthenticated RCE chain affecting government geoportal backends. The flaw is being actively exploited: it was added to CISA KEV on 2024-07-15, and EPSS assigns a 99.8% probability of exploitation within 30 days.
· OSGeo GeoServer Multiple releases prior to the vendor-patched builds (fixed in the 2.23.x, 2.24.x and 2.25.x maintenance lines; exact fixed releases per the OSGeo advisory: 2.2 · OSGeo GeoNetwork (bundles the vulnerable GeoTools library) KEV PoC ×3large
Unsafe Reflection RCE in PaperCut NG/MF, Chained with Auth Bypass in Attacks
CVE-2026-82078 is an unsafe dynamic class loading flaw (unsafe reflection, CWE-470) in the database connection utilities of PaperCut NG and PaperCut MF: the software instantiates a database driver class based on a configurable driver name without validating it against an allowlist of approved drivers. An attacker who can manipulate system configuration parameters can point that setting at classes of their choosing, causing the server to execute arbitrary Java bytecode residing on the application classpath in the security context of the PaperCut server process. On its own the issue is rated 9.4 (Critical) with high privileges required, but when chained with the companion authentication bypass CVE-2026-81578 it yields unauthenticated remote code execution on the print-management server. All PaperCut NG and MF deployments are in scope; affected version ranges were not specified in the available data, so administrators should consult PaperCut's advisory for fixed versions. The flaw is confirmed exploited in the wild as a zero-day: it was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2026-08-31, and public reporting describes an AI-orchestrated campaign that compromised PaperCut servers at roughly 395 organizations (~440 servers), with EPSS currently at 1.7% (76th percentile).
Missing Authentication for Critical Function in PaperCut NG/MF Web Interface
CVE-2026-81578 is an improper access control flaw (CWE-305) in the web management interface of PaperCut MF and PaperCut NG in which administrative requests from unauthenticated remote users trigger backend actions before access validation completes. An attacker can invoke administrative functions without logging in, allowing modification of certain system configurations. When chained with CVE-2026-82078 (unsafe dynamic class loading), the flaw has been used to achieve unauthenticated code execution. Any organization running PaperCut NG/MF, particularly servers whose web management interface is reachable from the internet or untrusted networks, is affected. The vulnerability was added to CISA KEV on 2026-08-31 and is being exploited in the wild as part of an AI-orchestrated campaign that compromised roughly 395–440 organizations.
Authenticated OS Command Injection RCE in SonicWall SMA1000 Appliance Console
CVE-2026-83549 is a post-authentication OS command injection flaw (CWE-78) in the Appliance Management Console (AMC) of SonicWall SMA1000 appliances. An attacker who authenticates to the AMC with administrator privileges can, under specific conditions, inject arbitrary operating system commands and achieve remote code execution on the appliance. Only organizations running SMA1000-series appliances, including the SMA 6210, SMA 7210, and SMA 8200v models cited in the data, are affected. CISA added the flaw to the KEV catalog on 2026-09-02, and news reports describe active exploitation, possibly chained with companion zero-day CVE-2026-83548, with reverse shells and cryptocurrency miners observed; no public proof-of-concept is known. EPSS assigns an 8.5% probability of exploitation within 30 days (95th percentile).
· SonicWall SMA1000 series appliances - Appliance Management Console (AMC) · SonicWall SMA 6210 (SMA1000 series firmware) KEVmoderate
Improper Authentication in JFrog Artifactory Exposes Internal Anonymous Tokens
JFrog Artifactory contains an improper authentication flaw (CWE-287) in which the server may return its internal anonymous-user token to an unauthenticated caller, even on instances where anonymous access is disabled. An attacker triggers the issue by sending unauthenticated requests to the affected Artifactory interface over the network; the vector requires no privileges or user interaction and is of low complexity. Successful abuse yields the internal anonymous-user token, which can then be used to reach sensitive resources (such as repositories or artifacts) that should be protected when anonymous access is disabled, with high confidentiality impact but no integrity or availability impact. Any organization running an affected JFrog Artifactory deployment - particularly those relying on disabled anonymous access as a control - is affected, though only instances where the vulnerable endpoint is reachable are actually exposed. Exploitation has been reported in the wild as part of an ongoing Artifactory attack campaign alongside CVE-2026-42016 and CVE-2026-82329, although there is no public PoC and the flaw is not yet in the CISA KEV catalog.
Authenticated GraphQL Subscription Flaw Leaks Search Credentials in GitLab EE
GitLab EE contains a critical (CVSS 9.9) deserialization flaw (CWE-502) in which an authenticated user with Duo Chat access can pass a specially crafted GraphQL subscription argument that bypasses serialization and performs a server object lookup. Via this bypass, the attacker can obtain Advanced Search instance configurations and the sensitive credentials they contain. Because the attack requires only a low-privileged account with Duo Chat access over the network, with no user interaction, any EE deployment where Duo Chat is enabled is potentially exposed, including both self-managed instances and GitLab.com. Affected versions are EE 18.3 and later before 19.1.8, 19.2 before 19.2.6, and 19.3 before 19.3.2. No public proof-of-concept or CISA KEV listing exists for this CVE as of now, though related GitLab flaws disclosed in the same cycle are reportedly drawing internet-wide probing.
· GitLab EE all versions from 18.3 before 19.1.8; 19.2 before 19.2.6; 19.3 before 19.3.2large
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