Security Resilience

CVE-2020-10199

RCE in Sonatype Nexus ≤ 3.21.2

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCE
Published
01 April 2020
Modified
07 November 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2020-10199 is a high-severity Expression Language Injection (CWE-917) vulnerability in Sonatype Nexus. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Sonatype Nexus Repository versions prior to 3.21.2 contain a Java Expression Language (JavaEL) injection vulnerability, tracked as CWE-917. The flaw resides in the repository manager's handling of certain inputs that are evaluated as EL expressions, affecting the core application component used for artifact storage and management.

An attacker with low-privileged authenticated network access can supply crafted input that triggers remote code execution. The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H indicates that successful exploitation yields complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability without user interaction.

Public exploit code demonstrating remote code execution against version 3.21.1-01 has been posted to PacketStorm, and Sonatype has published remediation guidance at the referenced support article. Upgrading to 3.21.2 or later eliminates the injection issue.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Sonatype Nexus Repository before 3.21.2 allows JavaEL Injection (issue 1 of 2).

CWE(s)
CWE-917
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.002 Wi-Fi Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may search for information about Wi-Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-26134Shared CWE-917both on KEV
CVE-2021-26084Shared CWE-917both on KEV
CVE-2020-17530Shared CWE-917both on KEV
CVE-2021-45046Shared CWE-917both on KEV
CVE-2010-1871Shared CWE-917both on KEV
CVE-2019-7238Same vendor: Sonatypeboth on KEV
CVE-2026-77124Same vendor: Sonatype
CVE-2026-87830Shared CWE-917
CVE-2026-40985Shared CWE-917
CVE-2026-2587Shared CWE-917

Affected Assets

sonatype
nexus
≤ 3.21.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.2
  • V1.3.2
  • V1.3.5
  • V4.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly require input neutralization and safe EL construction to prevent injection flaws.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.3 Segregation of duties partial match
removes

References