CVE-2026-42018 - PatchNow

📋 Vulnerability Details

Data Source: CIRCL

Confidence: HIGH

Exploitation Method: DIRECT_NETWORK

CVE Published: 2026-08-12

Added to CISA KEV: 2026-09-11 30 DAYS BETWEEN CVE AND KEV

🎯 Recommendations:

CRITICAL: This vulnerability is in CISA KEV with confirmed active exploitation. Immediately review Artifactory access logs for anomalous anonymous token requests, unauthorized admin actions, newly created users, and unexpected Groovy plugins or Rust binaries. Assume compromise if internet-facing and unpatched.
Patch immediately to fixed versions: 7.111.20, 7.117.27, 7.125.19, 7.133.28, or 7.146.8 (or later) depending on your release branch.
If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to Artifactory API/UI endpoints via firewall rules, WAF, or network segmentation; remove any unnecessary internet exposure and rotate all Artifactory tokens, API keys, and credentials.
Monitor for indicators of compromise associated with the chained exploitation (CVE-2026-42016 / CVE-2026-82329), including unauthorized plugin uploads and backdoor persistence; audit CI/CD pipeline integrity and artifact signing.
Patch priority: EMERGENCY / P0 — actively exploited, unauthenticated, internet-reachable, supply-chain risk.

🔍 Web Intelligence (Kagi · 2026-09-14)

Summary

CVE-2026-42018 is an improper authentication vulnerability affecting JFrog Artifactory that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to retrieve an internal anonymous-user token, even when anonymous access is explicitly disabled. This vulnerability is critical because it is currently being exploited in the wild, often in conjunction with other vulnerabilities (such as CVE-2026-42016 and CVE-2026-82329) to bypass authentication and gain full administrative control over the affected Artifactory instance ^[1]^[2].

Exploitation

Active Exploitation: The vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild by threat actors to conduct unauthorized access and system compromise ^[2].
Threat Actors: Attackers are using this flaw as part of an exploit chain to deploy malicious Rust-based backdoors and Groovy plugins to establish persistence within target environments ^[3].
Proof-of-Concept/Exploitation: While specific public exploit kits may not be widely available, advanced threat actors are successfully chaining this vulnerability with others to bypass authentication ^[1].
Attack Prerequisites:

- Access: The attack is performed over the network. - Authentication: No authentication is required to trigger the initial vulnerability. - User Interaction: No user interaction is required.

Affected Products & Patches

Affected Versions: Multiple versions of JFrog Artifactory are susceptible to this flaw ^[1]. Users should check the official JFrog security advisories for the specific affected release range.
Patch Availability: Organizations must upgrade to the latest, remediated versions of JFrog Artifactory provided by the vendor immediately ^[3].
Mitigation: If an immediate patch is not possible, organizations should block or restrict network access to affected Artifactory API endpoints via firewall rules or network segmentation to prevent unauthorized retrieval of tokens ^[4].

Impact

Access/Capabilities: Successful exploitation grants attackers the ability to bypass authentication mechanisms, elevate privileges, and potentially gain full administrative control over the Artifactory server ^[2].
Business Risk: For internet-facing deployments, this vulnerability presents a severe risk of complete server compromise, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive proprietary software, build artifacts, and the ability to inject malicious code into CI/CD pipelines ^[1].

Sources

JFrog Artifactory Vulnerabilities Actively Exploited in the Wild to ...
An active exploitation of three JFrog Artifactory vulnerabilities that attackers are using to bypass authentication, elevate privileges, and take administrative control of exposed servers. The flaws, tracked as CVE-2026-42016, CVE-2026-42018, and CVE-2026-82329, affect multiple Artifactory release .
Artifactory Under Attack: In-the-Wild Exploitation of CVE- ...
CVE-2026-42018 is an improper-authentication vulnerability that may cause Artifactory to return an internal anonymous-user token to an ... Wiz Research has identified active, in-the-wild exploitation of three critical and high-severity vulnerabilities impacting JFrog Artifactory (CVE-2026-42016, CVE…
JFrog Artifactory Exploited: CVE-2026-42016, CVE-2026-42018 & CVE-2026 ...
Wiz Research has identified active exploitation of three JFrog Artifactory vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-42016, CVE-2026-42018, and CVE-2026-82329. Attackers are chaining these flaws to bypass authentication and gain administrative control, deploying Rust-based backdoors and malicious Groovy plugins for…
CVE-2026-42018 - Vulnerability Details - OpenCVE
Block or limit network access to the Artifactory API endpoints that could reveal the token through firewall rules or network segmentation until the vendor releases a fix. Generated by OpenCVE AI on August 12, 2026 at 23:25 UTC.

🔴 CVE-2026-42018