CVE-2026-44577 Next.js: Denial of Service in the Image Optimization API
Attackers can cause out-of-memory denial of service in self-hosted Next.js apps by requesting large local images via the Image Optimization API.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-44577?
CVE-2026-44577 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Vercel Next.js, published on 13 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Next.js is a React framework for building full-stack web applications. From 10.0.0 to before 15.5.16 and 16.2.5, when self-hosting Next.js with the default image loader, the Image Optimization API fetches local images entirely into memory without enforcing a maximum size limit. An attacker could cause out-of-memory conditions by requesting large local assets from the /_next/image endpoint that match the images.localPatterns configuration (by default, all patterns are allowed). This vulnerability is fixed in 15.5.16 and 16.2.5.
Weakness: CWE-770
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44577?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including next. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
next npm | From 10.0.0 | 15.5.16 |
next npm | From 10.0.0 | 15.5.16 |
next npm | From 16.0.0 | 16.2.5 |
next npm | From 16.0.0 | 16.2.5 |
Products include Vercel Next.js.
How do I fix CVE-2026-44577?
Upgrade next to a fixed version for your release line: 15.5.16 or 16.2.5.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-44577 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-44577 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Vercel Next.js
- CVE-2025-29927 Authorization Bypass in Next.js Middleware
- CVE-2026-44578 Next.js: Server-side request forgery in applications using WebSocket upgrades
- CVE-2026-94483 Next.js: Server-Side Request Forgery in Image Optimization
- CVE-2026-64642 Next.js: Middleware / Proxy bypass in App Router applications using Turbopack and single locale
- CVE-2026-64645 Next.js: Server-Side Request Forgery in rewrites via attacker-controlled destination hostname
Sources
Also known as CLEANSTART-2026-OD37037, CLEANSTART-2026-OP77643, GHSA-h64f-5h5j-jqjh, MINI-2g72-w343-q4h6, MINI-f238-fxxw-f73j, MINI-vw58-mh62-f8v5 and 2 more.