CVE-2026-52865Network attack vector

Control-plane crash via insufficient resource validation

Published Jul 15, 2026 · Updated Jul 15, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in F5 NGINX Ingress Controller allows remote authenticated users to crash the controller process. Processing a labeled Ingress resource backend or a TransportServer with an empty tls block follows an insufficiently validated path and dereferences absent data. Access requires permission to create or modify those Kubernetes resources; the malformed resource causes a persistent control-plane crash loop without data-plane exposure.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.50%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in F5 NGINX Ingress Controller allows remote authenticated users to crash the controller process. Processing a labeled Ingress resource backend or a TransportServer with an empty tls block follows an insufficiently validated path and dereferences absent data. Access requires permission to create or modify those Kubernetes resources; the malformed resource causes a persistent control-plane crash loop without data-plane exposure.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-52865
Published
Jul 15, 2026
Updated
Jul 15, 2026
Vendor
F5 Networks
Product
NGINX Ingress Controller
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=2026-lts-r1 <2026-lts-r3
  2. Affected versionversion=5.0.0 <5.5.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

F5 Networks · NGINX Ingress Controllerversion=2026-lts-r1 <2026-lts-r3; version=5.0.0 <5.5.2

Published CVSS scores

7.1F5 NetworksCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
6.5F5 NetworksCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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