{"id":"CVE-2026-44572","aliases":["GHSA-3g8h-86w9-wvmq"],"url":"https://o3.security/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44572","summary":"Next.js: Middleware / Proxy redirects can be cache-poisoned","details":"### Impact\n\nNext.js uses the `x-nextjs-data` request header for internal data requests. On affected versions, an external client could send this header on a normal request to a path handled by middleware that returns a redirect.\n\nWhen that happened, the middleware/proxy could treat the request as a data request and replace the standard `Location` redirect header with the internal `x-nextjs-redirect` header. Browsers do not follow `x-nextjs-redirect`, so the response became an unusable redirect for normal clients.\n\nIf the application was deployed behind a CDN or reverse proxy that caches 3xx responses without varying on this header, a single attacker request could poison the cached redirect response for the affected path. Subsequent visitors could then receive a cached redirect response without a `Location` header, causing a denial of service for that redirect path until the cache entry expired or was purged.\n\n### Affected scenarios\n\nThis affects applications that:\n- use middleware or proxy redirects\n- are deployed behind a caching CDN or reverse proxy\n- allow 3xx responses on those paths to be cached without differentiating internal data requests from normal requests\n\n### Fix\n\nThe fix stops trusting `x-nextjs-data` by itself for middleware redirect handling. A request is now treated as an internal data request only when it is validated as such by internal routing state, preserving legitimate data-request redirect behavior while preventing external header injection from changing normal redirect responses.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nBefore upgrading, users can reduce risk by:\n- configuring the CDN or reverse proxy to vary its cache key on `x-nextjs-data` for affected responses","published":"2026-05-13T15:57:15.750Z","modified":"2026-08-12T03:51:41.034570134Z","cvss":{"score":3.7,"severity":"LOW","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"},"epss":{"score":0.00284,"percentile":0.20312,"asOf":"2026-08-24"},"cisaKev":null,"exploitsKnown":0,"affectedPackages":[{"ecosystem":"npm","name":"next","fixedVersion":"15.5.16"},{"ecosystem":"npm","name":"next","fixedVersion":"16.2.5"}],"fix":null,"references":[{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/44xxx/CVE-2026-44572.json"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/vercel/next.js/security/advisories/GHSA-3g8h-86w9-wvmq"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44572"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/vercel/next.js"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/vercel/next.js/releases/tag/v15.5.16"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/vercel/next.js/releases/tag/v16.2.5"}],"provenance":{"sources":["OSV.dev","FIRST.org (EPSS)"],"lastVerified":"2026-08-12T03:51:41.034570134Z"}}