CVE-2026-84731: CWE-306 Missing authentication for critical function in Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS)
Description
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.
CVSS v4.0
Score 9.3critical
Affected software
Nutanix
Acropolis Operating System (AOS)
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability arises from missing authentication for critical functions in Nutanix Prism Element within AOS. An attacker can bypass authentication by including a specially crafted internal management HTTP header, causing the server to respond with a Set-Cookie header containing a valid JSESSIONID. This session cookie decodes to a JSON Web Token (JWT) with full cluster administrative privileges. Exploitation allows root-level command execution on all Controller VMs, enabling complete cluster destruction and unauthorized access to sensitive VM data. The issue is due to a misconfiguration in the application's authentication filters.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation results in full administrative access without authentication, allowing root-level command execution on all Controller VMs in the cluster. This can lead to complete destruction of the cluster and unauthorized access to VM memory and virtual disks, severely compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected systems.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Since no patch or official fix information is provided, users should monitor Nutanix advisories closely for updates. Until a fix is available, restrict network access to management interfaces and apply strict access controls to limit exposure.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- Nutanix
- Date Reserved
- 2026-09-02T06:41:54.722Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6ad10e942cdf04f6564bcc1b
Added to database: 10/15/2026, 17:34:12 UTC
Last enriched: 10/15/2026, 17:48:15 UTC
Last updated: 10/15/2026, 19:49:13 UTC
Views: 15
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