CVE-2021-37152
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 · uneditedMultiple XSS issues exist in Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager 3 before 3.33.0. An authenticated attacker with the ability to add HTML files to a repository could redirect users to Nexus Repository Manager’s pages with code modifications.
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 Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Sonatype Nexus Repository Manager 3. An authenticated attacker with repository write permissions can upload malicious HTML files containing JavaScript code. When other users access these files or are redirected through them, the embedded JavaScript executes in their browser session, potentially allowing session hijacking or actions performed on behalf of authenticated users.
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>= 3.0.0, < 3.33.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Identify Nexus Repository Manager versionLog into the Nexus administration UI and navigate to 'System' > 'Support' > 'Summary' to view the installed version. Alternatively, check the version from the Nexus startup logs or the 'nexus-default.properties' file in the 'etc' folder.Affected if Installed version is 3.0.0 or higher but lower than 3.33.0
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Verify repository write permissions existIn the Nexus admin UI, go to 'Administration' > 'Security' > 'Roles' and examine which roles have the 'nx-repository-view-*-*' privileges with 'create' and 'update' actions. Then check which users are assigned these roles under 'Administration' > 'Security' > 'Users'.Affected if Any untrusted or non-administrative users have been granted repository write (create/update) permissions
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Inspect repositories for uploaded HTML filesUse the Nexus UI to browse repositories, or query the blob store directly, for files with .html or .htm extensions. Check common hosting repositories like 'maven-releases', 'maven-snapshots', or hosted repositories for any HTML files that were uploaded.Affected if Any .html or .htm files exist in hosted repositories, particularly those containing script tags or JavaScript code
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Review Content Security Policy configurationCheck the Nexus 'etc' directory for 'nexus.properties' or 'org.sonatype.nexus.security.internal.SecurityFilter' configuration. Look for any CSP header definitions or examine HTTP response headers when accessing Nexus to see if CSP is enforced.Affected if No Content Security Policy headers are configured or enforced on the Nexus instance
The environment is affected if Nexus Repository Manager 3 version is between 3.0.0 and 3.32.1 (inclusive), untrusted users have repository write permissions, and no additional mitigations like CSP are in place.
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 data3.33.0
Upgrade Nexus Repository Manager 3 to version 3.33.0 or later. Additionally, restrict repository write permissions to trusted users only and implement Content Security Policy headers.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-37152 — 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-2021-37152 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data