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9.3
CVE-2026-84731: Nutanix AOS lets remote attacker gain admin access
CVE-2026-84731 · published today
Summary
A misconfiguration in Nutanix AOS lets anyone on the network send a special header and receive a valid admin session cookie. With that cookie the attacker can control the entire cluster, run commands with full privileges, and access or delete virtual machines and data. Apply the vendor's security update or disable the vulnerable interface immediately.
What to do
- Update nutanix acropolis operating system (aos) to version 7.3.1.18.
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|
| nutanix | acropolis operating system (aos) |
< 7.3.1.18 Fix: upgrade to 7.3.1.18
|
Original advisory text
Pre-Authentication Admin Bypass and Remote Code Execution in Nutanix Prism Gateway inside AOS
An unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass authentication and gain full access to administrative API endpoints in Nutanix Prism Element by including a crafted internal management HTTP header. The vulnerability is caused by a misconfiguration in the application's authentication filters.
Consequently, the server responds with a Set-Cookie header containing a valid JSESSIONID. This session cookie decodes to a JSON Web Token (JWT) granting maximum cluster administrative privileges. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute root-level commands on all Controller VMs (CVMs) in the cluster, leading to complete cluster destruction and unauthorized access to VM memory and virtual disks.
Consequently, the server responds with a Set-Cookie header containing a valid JSESSIONID. This session cookie decodes to a JSON Web Token (JWT) granting maximum cluster administrative privileges. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute root-level commands on all Controller VMs (CVMs) in the cluster, leading to complete cluster destruction and unauthorized access to VM memory and virtual disks.
Internet-facing
3 days
Internal
60 days
- Not known to be exploited
- Can be exploited automatically (estimated)
- Gives an attacker full control (estimated)
Severity
9.3
Critical
Type
CWE-306Missing Authentication for Critical Function
CWE-290Authentication Bypass by Spoofing
CWE-302Authentication Bypass by Assumed-Immutable Data
Timeline
Published15 Oct 2026
Updated15 Oct 2026
First seen15 Oct 2026
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