# CVE-2026-84731: Pre-Authentication Admin Bypass and Remote Code Execution in Nutanix Prism Gateway inside AOS

> Unauthenticated attackers can bypass authentication via crafted headers to gain admin access and execute root commands on Nutanix clusters.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:P/S:N/AU:Y/R:U/V:C/RE:H/U:Red`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rj7h-w2v7-v863

## What is CVE-2026-84731?

CVE-2026-84731 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS), published on 15 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official 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.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality), CWE-302 (Authentication Bypass by Assumed-Immutable Data), CWE-290 (Authentication Bypass by Spoofing)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-84731?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-84731?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-84731 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-84731 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-84731 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-84731 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-84731 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS), published on 15 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-84731 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nutanix Acropolis Operating System (AOS). No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-84731/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-84731/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-84731
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-84731
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-84731

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-84731/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.