CVE-2026-42016: JFrog Artifactory token scope not validated, allowing privilege escalation
Exploited in the wild High 8.8 EPSS 8.6%
Self-hosted JFrog Artifactory before 7.133.11 checks an access token's signature and issuer but not its scope, so an attacker holding a low-privileged token can use it for actions it was never granted and escalate to admin. Wiz Research observed attackers chaining it with CVE-2026-42018 between August 15 and September 8, 2026 to turn an unauthenticated request into an admin-scoped token, then creating admin accounts and dropping backdoors. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-09-11 as exploited in the wild.
- CVE-2026-42016CVE identifier
- 8.8CVSS 3.1 base score (high)
- 2026-09-11added to CISA's exploited list (US federal deadline 2026-09-25)
- 8.6%EPSS: chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (higher than 95% of CVEs)
- 2026-07-27published
What do these terms mean? CVE · CVSS score · exploited (KEV) · EPSS · backported fix · all terms
What to do now
- Check whether you run the affected software and which version (commands below).
- Install the fixed version for your system: see “Patch it” below.
- Artifactory is unavailable during the upgrade on a single node; HA clusters can be upgraded one node at a time. On first start after the upgrade Artifactory may run database converters.
- Because this flaw is being exploited, also check the server for signs of compromise.
Affected and fixed versions
Affected:
- JFrog Artifactory self-hosted before 7.133.11
Fixed in:
- JFrog Artifactory 7.133.11 (and any later release)
Am I affected?
curl -s -u <user>:<password-or-token> http://<artifactory-host>:8082/artifactory/api/system/version
dpkg -l jfrog-artifactory-pro | grep ^ii
rpm -q jfrog-artifactory-proPatch it
Use the commands for your system. Distribution packages often keep an older version number with the fix backported, so compare with the fixed package versions in the table below, not only with the upstream version.
Debian
# 7.146.38 (or 7.161.20 on the 7.161.x branch) fixes CVE-2026-42016, -42018, -66384 and -82329
sudo systemctl stop artifactory.service
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install jfrog-artifactory-pro=7.146.38
sudo systemctl start artifactory.serviceUbuntu
# 7.146.38 (or 7.161.20 on the 7.161.x branch) fixes CVE-2026-42016, -42018, -66384 and -82329
sudo systemctl stop artifactory.service
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install jfrog-artifactory-pro=7.146.38
sudo systemctl start artifactory.serviceRHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky, Oracle
# 7.146.38 (or 7.161.20 on the 7.161.x branch) fixes CVE-2026-42016, -42018, -66384 and -82329
sudo systemctl stop artifactory.service
sudo dnf install jfrog-artifactory-pro-7.146.38
sudo systemctl start artifactory.serviceDocker images
# 7.146.38 (or 7.161.20) fixes CVE-2026-42016, -42018, -66384 and -82329; use artifactory-oss / artifactory-cpp-ce for those editions
docker stop artifactory
docker rm -f artifactory
export ARTIFACTORY_HOME=<mount path of your current Artifactory data directory>
docker run --name artifactory -v $ARTIFACTORY_HOME:/var/opt/jfrog/artifactory -d -p 8081:8081 -p 8082:8082 releases-docker.jfrog.io/jfrog/artifactory-pro:7.146.38General update steps for every system are on the Linux and Unix & BSD pages; after updating, see which services to restart.
Look for signs of exploitation
- Wiz Research: the internal anonymous identity (or another low-privilege identity) minting tokens via POST /access/api/v1/tokens or POST /artifactory/api/security/token, enumerating users via GET /access/api/v1/users or /artifactory/api/security/users/<username>, or reading/writing /artifactory/api/plugins. After the chain with CVE-2026-42018, admin actions are logged with the actor token:anonymous.
- Wiz Research: after exploitation look for unexpected admin users (e.g. Nxploited_*, labadmin_<hex>, 0xTerror, svc_*, or plausible names such as jfrog-distribution, jfrog-insight, repo-service), Groovy user plugins in $JFROG_HOME/var/etc/artifactory/plugins/ (seen: rce.groovy, cmd.groovy, jwtToken.groovy, uploadFile.groovy, JFrogImage.groovy, metrics.groovy, httpSession.groovy) called via /artifactory/api/plugins/execute/<name>, payloads in /dev/shm, /tmp or /var/tmp, and truncated request*.log files. Plugins and admin users survive upgrades; if found, also reset the Access token signing key because stolen keys let attackers mint valid tokens.
CISA 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.
https://docs.jfrog.com/releases/docs/jfrog-security-advisories ; https://docs.jfrog.com/releases/docs/artifactory-self-managed-releases ; BOD 26-04: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; Forensics Triage Requirements: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-implementation-guidance-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42016
Related vulnerabilities
Sources
- JFrog Security Advisories
- JFrog: Artifactory Self-Managed Releases
- JFrog Docs: Artifactory Linux Package Upgrade (RPM/Debian)
- JFrog Docs: Artifactory Docker Upgrade
- JFrog Docs: Get Artifactory Version (REST API)
- Wiz Research: Artifactory Under Attack - In-the-Wild Exploitation of CVE-2026-42016, CVE-2026-42018 & CVE-2026-82329
- CVE.org record CVE-2026-42016
- NVD: CVE-2026-42016
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (JSON feed)
- CVE-2026-42016 on CVE.org
- CVE-2026-42016 on NVD
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
Page generated automatically from official sources on 2026-11-03 18:05 UTC and reviewed by an editor. Always confirm with your vendor's advisory.