What is CVE-2020-10199?

CVE-2020-10199 is a high-severity vulnerability in Sonatype Nexus, classified under Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement (Expression Language Injection). CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2020-04-01.

How severe is CVE-2020-10199?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2020-10199 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-10199 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 96 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

RCE in Sonatype Nexus

CVE-2020-10199

Sonatype Nexus Repository before 3.21.2 allows JavaEL Injection (issue 1 of 2).

Vulnerability class: Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228)

Published 2020-04-01 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.991 (99.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-16.

Very high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — among the top 0.1% most-likely-to-be-exploited CVEs. 100th percentile — 99.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.991 · newest: 0.991 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Sonatype Nexus

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-917 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement (Expression Language Injection)

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2021-11-03. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-05-03.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

support.sonatype.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044882533 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
packetstormsecurity.com/files/157261/Nexus-Repository-Manager-3.21.1-01-Remote-… (Patch, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)
packetstormsecurity.com/files/160835/Sonatype-Nexus-3.21.1-Remote-Code-Executio… (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)
cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/917.html (Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-10199?: CVE-2020-10199 is a high-severity vulnerability in Sonatype Nexus, classified under Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement (Expression Language Injection). CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2020-04-01.
How severe is CVE-2020-10199?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-10199 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2020-10199 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 96 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.