How severe is CVE-2026-44577?

CVE-2026-44577 has a CVSS score of 5.9/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-44577?

CVE-2026-44577 affects the following packages: next (npm), next (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2026-44577?

Update next to 15.5.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-44577 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-44577 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for next, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-44577 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

Is CVE-2026-44577 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-44577 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-44577?

CVE-2026-44577 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.7%, placing it in the 55th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-44577?

CVE-2026-44577 is classified as CWE-770 (CWE-770). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2026-44577 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-44577 was published on May 13, 2026 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

📦

📦 npm

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2026-44577 — next

MEDIUM

CVE-2026-44577 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-770 vulnerability in next. A fix is available for next — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Next.js: Denial of Service in the Image Optimization API

Also known asGHSA-h64f-5h5j-jqjh

Published

May 13, 2026

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 8, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-44577.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs55th percentile — riskier than 55% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.

61Kother npm packages depend on this — each one inherits the vulnerability until it's patched upstream

nextnpm

92.1Mdownloads / week

Description

Impact

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).

If you are using images.localPatterns, only the patterns in that array are impacted.
If you are using images.unoptimized: true, you are NOT impacted.
If you are using images.loader: 'custom', you are NOT impacted.
If you are using Vercel, you are NOT impacted.

Fix

We now apply response size limits consistently to internal image fetches, not just external ones, and fail oversized responses before they can exhaust process memory.

This can be adjusted using the images.maximumResponseBody configuration.

Workarounds

If you cannot upgrade immediately, avoid routing large local assets through /_next/image, disable image optimization for large or untrusted local files, or block image optimization access to those assets at the edge.

You can disable using the images.localPatterns: [] configuration. This will still allow fetching remote images (which is not impacted).

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`next`	≥ 10.0.0&&< 15.5.16	15.5.16`npm install next@15.5.16`
📦npm	`next`	≥ 16.0.0&&< 16.2.5	16.2.5`npm install next@16.2.5`

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

next.jsvercel

≥ 16.0.0 && < 16.2.5

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for next, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update next to 15.5.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-44577 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatImportant

This Important flaw in Next.js affects self-hosted applications utilizing the default image loader. A remote attacker can trigger a denial of service by requesting large local image assets, leading to out-of-memory conditions. This vulnerability is present when `images.localPatterns` is configured to allow all…

Workaround published by Red Hat

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.

Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2026-44577 (CC BY 4.0)

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Streams for Apache Kafka 2.9.4	`next`	RHSA-2026:34608
Streams for Apache Kafka 3.2.1	`next`	RHSA-2026:54435
Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer 1.3	`rhtas/rekor-search-ui-rhel9:1783958622`	RHSA-2026:40974
Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer 1.4	`rhtas/rekor-search-ui-rhel9:1783327185`	RHSA-2026:37272

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact 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). - If you are using `images.localPatterns`, only the patterns in that array are impacted. - If you are using `images.unoptimized: true`, you are NOT impacted. - If you are using `images.loader: 'custom'`, you are NO