CVE-2026-27980Network attack vector

Unauthenticated denial of service via unbounded image cache

Published Mar 18, 2026 · Updated Mar 18, 2026

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Vercel Next.js 10.0.0 through 16.1.6 allows remote attackers to exhaust disk space via image requests. The image optimizer writes each attacker-selected transformation variant into .next/cache/images without a size ceiling or eviction policy. The issue requires a self-hosted deployment using the default image optimizer; platforms with separate image optimization, including Vercel, are unaffected, and disk exhaustion can interrupt the service.

CVSS severity6.9
Medium
EPSS probability0.68%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled resource consumption in Vercel Next.js 10.0.0 through 16.1.6 allows remote attackers to exhaust disk space via image requests. The image optimizer writes each attacker-selected transformation variant into .next/cache/images without a size ceiling or eviction policy. The issue requires a self-hosted deployment using the default image optimizer; platforms with separate image optimization, including Vercel, are unaffected, and disk exhaustion can interrupt the service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-27980
Published
Mar 18, 2026
Updated
Mar 18, 2026
Vendor
Vercel
Product
Next.js
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 10.0.0, < 16.1.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Vercel · Next.jsversion=>= 10.0.0, < 16.1.7

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
6.9GitHubCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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