CVE-2026-70548: JFrog Artifactory SSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2026-70548 Overview

CVE-2026-70548 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in JFrog Artifactory. Under specific conditions, a low-privileged authenticated user can trigger outbound requests to remote CocoaPods repositories through the External Dependency feature. The flaw is tracked under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery. Exploitation requires network access, valid low-level credentials, and high attack complexity. Impact is limited to availability, with no direct confidentiality or integrity effect on Artifactory data.

Critical Impact
A low-privileged user can coerce Artifactory into issuing requests to remote CocoaPods repositories, potentially affecting service availability and expanding the reachable network surface.

Affected Products

JFrog Artifactory (self-managed) — specific affected versions listed in JFrog Security Advisories
Deployments with the External Dependency feature enabled for CocoaPods repositories
Instances permitting low-level user accounts to interact with remote repository configurations

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-25 - CVE-2026-70548 published to NVD
2026-08-26 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-70548

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the External Dependency handling for CocoaPods repositories in JFrog Artifactory. External Dependency functionality allows Artifactory to proxy and resolve packages from remote sources. Under specific configuration conditions, the server-side dependency resolution logic does not sufficiently restrict which users can initiate outbound requests. A low-privileged authenticated user can therefore cause the Artifactory backend to reach out to remote CocoaPods repository URLs.

This behavior aligns with CWE-918, where the server performs requests to attacker-influenced destinations. The scope changes because the request originates from Artifactory, not the caller, allowing the attacker to leverage the server's network position.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient authorization enforcement on the External Dependency request path for CocoaPods. Access control checks do not fully account for low-level user roles when the server initiates outbound resolution requests, so requests that should be restricted to higher-privileged roles pass validation.

Attack Vector

An attacker authenticates to Artifactory with a low-privileged account. The attacker then interacts with the CocoaPods External Dependency workflow to trigger a server-initiated request to a remote repository endpoint. Successful triggering requires specific preconditions on the Artifactory configuration, which raises attack complexity. There is no user interaction requirement beyond the attacker's own actions.

No public proof-of-concept or exploit is currently available. Refer to the JFrog Security Advisories for authoritative technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-70548

Indicators of Compromise

Outbound HTTP or HTTPS requests from the Artifactory server to CocoaPods repository hosts that do not correlate with scheduled sync jobs or administrator activity.
Repeated External Dependency resolution requests initiated by low-privileged user accounts in Artifactory access logs.
Unexpected DNS lookups from the Artifactory host to cdn.cocoapods.org, github.com mirrors, or attacker-controlled hostnames referenced in dependency specifications.

Detection Strategies

Correlate Artifactory access.log and request.log entries by user role, focusing on non-admin accounts invoking External Dependency operations.
Baseline normal outbound network traffic from Artifactory nodes and alert on deviations to unfamiliar remote hosts.
Review CocoaPods remote repository configuration changes and dependency lookup patterns for entries introduced by low-level users.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose audit logging for the External Dependency feature and forward logs to a centralized analytics platform.
Monitor egress traffic from Artifactory using network flow logs or a web proxy to detect unauthorized destinations.
Alert on privilege-role mismatches where accounts flagged as low-level generate server-initiated outbound traffic.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-70548

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade JFrog Artifactory to a fixed version listed in the JFrog Artifactory Releases Documentation.
Audit user roles and remove External Dependency permissions from accounts that do not require them.
Restrict outbound network access from Artifactory servers to an allowlist of required repository hosts.

Patch Information

JFrog publishes fixed versions and remediation guidance through the JFrog Security Advisories portal. Administrators should review the advisory entry for CVE-2026-70548, identify the minimum fixed version applicable to their deployment, and follow the vendor upgrade procedure. Consult the Artifactory self-managed releases page for release notes and upgrade paths.

Workarounds

Disable the External Dependency feature on CocoaPods repositories where it is not operationally required.
Enforce least-privilege access controls so only vetted administrators can modify or trigger External Dependency configurations.
Place Artifactory behind an egress proxy that enforces destination allowlisting for package registry traffic.

bash

# Configuration example: restrict Artifactory egress with an allowlist proxy
# Example iptables egress policy on the Artifactory host
iptables -A OUTPUT -o eth0 -p tcp --dport 443 -d cdn.cocoapods.org -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -o eth0 -p tcp --dport 443 -j REJECT