CVE-2026-42221CRITICAL 9.8EPSS p26.3%
CVE-2026-42221CVE-2026-42221
Description
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.
Scoring
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 (CRITICAL) |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| EPSS | 0.35% probability of exploitation · percentile 26.3% · 2026-06-18T12:00:27Z |
| Published | 2026-05-04 |
| Last modified | 2026-05-06 |
Underlying weaknesses· 1
References
1
| Type | Target | Confidence | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weakness | Missing Authentication for Critical Functioncwe-306 | 0% | live |
Related by meaning· 6
Nearest entities by semantic similarity across the cs-graph corpus.