CVE-2026-70550 in Artifactory
Summary
by MITRE • 08/25/2026
An authorization weakness in JFrog Artifactory Composer repository handling may allow an authenticated user, under specific conditions, to read package metadata from repositories they are not authorized to read. The issue affects confidentiality and has been addressed in fixed Artifactory versions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/25/2026
The vulnerability identified within the JFrog Artifactory software represents a critical authorization flaw specifically affecting the Composer repository handler component. This security defect allows an authenticated user, who possesses valid credentials for the system but lacks explicit read permissions on certain repositories, to bypass access controls and retrieve sensitive package metadata. The core of this issue lies in how the application processes requests directed at Composer-formatted repositories, where the logic governing permission checks fails to adequately validate whether the requesting entity has been granted the necessary privileges before serving data. This type of weakness is a classic example of an insecure direct object reference or broken access control mechanism, where the system trusts client-supplied identifiers without sufficiently verifying that the user associated with those credentials is authorized to interact with the specific resource being accessed.
From a technical perspective, this flaw impacts the confidentiality integrity of the artifact repository infrastructure. By exposing package metadata such as version numbers, dependency lists, and file hashes for repositories designated as private or restricted, attackers can gain valuable intelligence about the organization's software supply chain. This information disclosure does not necessarily allow immediate code execution but serves as a significant reconnaissance vector that facilitates further attacks. The attacker could analyze these dependencies to identify known vulnerabilities in specific library versions used by the target organization, thereby narrowing down potential attack surfaces for subsequent exploitation attempts like dependency confusion or supply chain poisoning.
In terms of industry standard classifications, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management and CWE-862 Missing Authorization. These categories highlight the failure to enforce proper access control policies during runtime operations. Furthermore, within the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this behavior corresponds to techniques associated with Discovery, specifically T1087 Account Discovery or more broadly T1539 Steal Web Session Cookie if session hijacking were involved, though in this case it is primarily about unauthorized data access via T1213 Data from Information Repositories. The exploitation of such a flaw allows an adversary to gather information that would otherwise be protected by role-based access control mechanisms, undermining the principle of least privilege that should govern enterprise software repositories.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data leakage. It compromises the trust model of the artifact repository, which is often central to continuous integration and deployment pipelines. If developers or automated build systems rely on Artifactory for secure package retrieval, knowing that metadata can be exfiltrated by unauthorized users introduces risk into the development lifecycle. Attackers could potentially use this information to craft malicious packages with identical names but different versions, exploiting dependency resolution logic in downstream projects if they have write access elsewhere, although the primary impact here remains informational disclosure leading to enhanced situational awareness for potential attackers targeting the organization's infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve upgrading JFrog Artifactory to a version where this authorization check has been corrected by the vendor. Organizations should immediately verify their current software versions against the official security advisories released by JFrog and apply patches as soon as possible. In addition to patching, administrators should review access control policies to ensure that repository permissions are strictly defined and regularly audited. Implementing network-level segmentation for sensitive repositories can provide an additional layer of defense, ensuring that even if application-layer authorization fails, lateral movement or direct access is restricted by firewall rules. Continuous monitoring of access logs for anomalous patterns, such as repeated requests from users to resources outside their typical scope, can also help in detecting potential exploitation attempts before significant damage occurs.