Service interruption via unbounded local image fetch
Published May 13, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026
Resource exhaustion in Vercel Next.js 10.0.0 through 15.5.15 and 16.0.0 through 16.2.4 allows remote attackers to interrupt service. The /_next/image handler reads each matching local asset fully into process memory without applying the response-size limit used for remote images. Self-hosting with the default image loader and an allowed local pattern is required; repeated requests can exhaust process memory and interrupt service.
Summary
What happened
Resource exhaustion in Vercel Next.js 10.0.0 through 15.5.15 and 16.0.0 through 16.2.4 allows remote attackers to interrupt service. The /_next/image handler reads each matching local asset fully into process memory without applying the response-size limit used for remote images. Self-hosting with the default image loader and an allowed local pattern is required; repeated requests can exhaust process memory and interrupt service.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-44577
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Updated
- May 13, 2026
- Vendor
- Vercel
- Product
- Next.js
- Classifications
- CWE-770, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 13, 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.
- Affected versionversion=>= 10.0.0, < 15.5.16
- Affected versionversion=>= 16.0.0, < 16.2.5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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