CVE-2026-5189
Published: 15 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-5189 is a critical-severity Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.2 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 36.5th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-23031
Vulnerability details
CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials in Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager versions 3.0.0 through 3.70.5 allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to gain unauthorized read/write access to the internal database and execute arbitrary OS commands as the Nexus process user.…
more
Exploitation requires the non-default nexus.orient.binaryListenerEnabled=true configuration to be enabled.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Hard-coded credentials in a network-exposed service (Nexus) directly enable unauthenticated remote access leading to OS command execution.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Enables users to notice when hard-coded credentials have been exploited for unauthorized access.
Security training explicitly warns against hard-coded credentials, lowering their use in systems.
Policy and procedures prohibit hard-coded credentials in favor of managed authentication.
External identity providers eliminate the need for hard-coded credentials in applications.
Changing default authenticators prior to first use and protecting content prevents use of hard-coded credentials.
Central credential stores and rotation policies remove the need for hard-coded credentials in configuration files or code.
Intelligence programs surface reports of campaigns that abuse hard-coded credentials in products, prompting removal or replacement and thereby reducing successful exploitation.
Planned investment enables secure credential storage and management systems instead of hard-coded credentials.