CVE-2021-29159
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability has been discovered in Nexus Repository Manager 3.x before 3.30.1. An attacker with a local account can create entities with crafted properties that, when viewed by an administrator, can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the NXRM application.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThis is a stored XSS vulnerability in Nexus Repository Manager 3.x where an authenticated local user can inject malicious JavaScript into entity properties. When an administrator views these crafted entities, the payload executes in the browser context of the NXRM application, potentially allowing session hijacking or administrative actions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 3.23.0, < 3.30.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Nexus Repository Manager versionLog into the admin interface and navigate to Administration > System > Licensing, or check the version via the API at /service/rest/v1/system/versionAffected if The installed version is 3.23.0 or higher but lower than 3.30.1
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Verify local authentication is enabledNavigate to Administration > Security > Authentication in the NXRM admin UI and confirm local authentication methods (such as 'Username/Password' or 'Crowd' if configured) are activeAffected if Local user authentication is enabled, allowing authenticated local users to access the system
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Review entity property values for XSS payloadsInspect stored entities (repositories, assets, or components) via the API or admin UI, examining entity property fields for suspicious content such as <script> tags, javascript: URIs, or event handler attributes like onload/onerrorAffected if Entity properties contain unsanitized HTML, script tags, or JavaScript event handlers that could execute in an administrator's browser
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Audit admin session activityReview Administration > Security > Logs and look for admin user sessions combined with actions on entities created by lower-privilege users, or check browser console for XSS errors when viewing entity detailsAffected if Administrative users have viewed entities with maliciously crafted property values, indicating potential XSS execution
A user is affected if their Nexus Repository Manager version is 3.23.0 through 3.30.0 and local authenticated users can modify entity properties that are later viewed by administrators.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data3.30.1
Upgrade to Nexus Repository Manager 3.30.1 or later to obtain the fix. Until then, restrict local account creation and carefully review entity property display in the admin interface.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29159 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-29159 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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