CVE-2026-48722
MEDIUMCVE-2026-48722 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) vulnerability in io.nextflow:nextflow. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-48722 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
nextflow auth login command has incorrect default permissions
Real-World Exposure
io.nextflow:nextflow☕io.nextflow:nextflowReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
nextflow auth login persists Seqera Platform OIDC tokens to ${NXF_HOME:-~/.nextflow}/seqera-auth.config. The file is created via Java NIO without specifying file permissions, so under the default umask 022 it lands at mode 0644 (world-readable).
On a multi-user POSIX host — typically an HPC login node, shared workstation, or jump host — any local user able to traverse the victim's home directory can read the file and obtain a valid Platform bearer token, enabling impersonation against Seqera Platform within the token's scope.
Single-user systems and headless CI runners, which do not invoke the interactive login flow, are not affected.
Affected versions: 25.09.2-edge through 26.04.1.
Patches
Fixed in <PATCHED_VERSION>. The patched code applies mode 0600 to seqera-auth.config immediately after writing it, and re-applies on every subsequent login so any pre-existing world-readable copy left by an earlier version is tightened.
Tokens previously stored in the file must be treated as disclosed. After upgrading, run nextflow auth logout, revoke the token in the Seqera Platform UI, and run nextflow auth login again.
Workarounds
Restrict the file and its parent directory:
chmod 600 "${NXF_HOME:-$HOME/.nextflow}/seqera-auth.config"
chmod 700 "${NXF_HOME:-$HOME/.nextflow}"
Alternatively, supply the Platform token via the TOWER_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable instead of running nextflow auth login.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | io.nextflow:nextflow | ≥ 25.09.2-edge&&< 25.10.6 | 25.10.6 |
| ☕Maven | io.nextflow:nextflow | ≥ 26.00.0-edge&&< 26.04.3 | 26.04.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for io.nextflow:nextflow. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update io.nextflow:nextflow to 25.10.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-48722 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-48722 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-48722. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-48722 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-48722 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.