CVE-2019-16097core/api/user.go in Harbor 1.7.0 through 1.8.2 allows non-admin users to create admin accounts via the POST /api/users API, when Harbor is…
- 6.5MediumCVSS base score
- 22.4%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 2.3% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 1Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
Description
core/api/user.go in Harbor 1.7.0 through 1.8.2 allows non-admin users to create admin accounts via the POST /api/users API, when Harbor is setup with DB as authentication backend and allow user to do self-registration. Fixed version: v1.7.6 v1.8.3. v.1.9.0. Workaround without applying the fix: configure Harbor to use non-DB authentication backend such as LDAP.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list a Nuclei template for it.
Show the exploits1
Nuclei templates1 template
- Harbor <=1.82.0 - Privilege Escalation (Nuclei template) (opens in a new tab)
http/cves/2019/CVE-2019-16097.yamlSeverity medium
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
Published
- 5 years later
· 5 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | Medium6.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 22.4% · top 2.3% of all CVEs (12 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 6.5.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
Affected packages
From reviewed advisories of the GitHub Advisory Database.
- Gogithub.com/goharbor/harborGHSA-9wvh-ff5f-xjpj (opens in a new tab)
References
References6
- https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/commit/b6db8a8a106259ec9a2c48be8a380cb3b37cf517 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/compare/v1.8.2...v1.9.0-rc1 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/critical-vulnerability-in-harbor-enables-privilege-escalation-from-zero-to-admin-cve-2019-16097/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v1.8.3 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://github.com/goharbor/harbor/releases/tag/v1.7.6 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0015.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2022-0946 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-9wvh-ff5f-xjpj (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2019-16097)Record last updated .