VulnerabilityPublished 13 May 2026Updated 13 Aug 2026

CVE-2026-44575: vercel next.js · Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

Affects vercel next.jsSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 16.2.5 or 15.5.16 soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 75% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 16.2.5, 15.5.16

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade next.js and vercel/next.js to 16.2.5 or 15.5.16.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
vercelnext.js	Affected >=16.0.0 <16.2.5	Fixed in 16.2.5
vercelnext.js	Affected >=15.2.0 <15.5.16	Fixed in 15.5.16
GitHubvercel/next.js`pkg:github/vercel/next.js`Other threats	Affected >=15.2.0 <15.5.16 >=16.0.0 <16.2.5	Fixed in 15.5.16 16.2.5

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

The vulnerability is fixed in Next.js versions 15.5.16 and 16.2.5. Users should upgrade to these or later versions to remediate the issue. Red Hat's advisory states that no effective mitigations currently meet their criteria for ease of use and applicability, so upgrading is the recommended course of action.

Description

Next.js is a React framework for building full-stack web applications. From 15.2.0 to before 15.5.16 and 16.2.5, App Router applications that rely on middleware or proxy-based checks for authorization can allow unauthorized access through transport-specific route variants used for segment prefetching. In affected configurations, specially crafted .rsc and segment-prefetch URLs can resolve to the same page without being matched by the intended middleware rule, which can allow protected content to be reached without the expected authorization check. This vulnerability is fixed in 15.5.16 and 16.2.5.

Impact

The vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass authorization checks in affected Next.js App Router applications, leading to unauthorized access to protected content. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.5 (high severity) with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality impact. Integrity and availability are not affected. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time.

Summary

Next.js versions >=15.2.0 <15.5.16 and >=16.0.0 <16.2.5 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability (CWE-288) in App Router applications relying on middleware or proxy-based authorization. Specially crafted .rsc and segment-prefetch URLs can bypass middleware authorization checks because transport-specific route variants are not consistently matched by middleware rules. This allows remote attackers to access protected content without proper authorization. The issue is resolved in Next.js versions 15.5.16 and 16.2.5. Red Hat's advisory confirms the vulnerability and states that no current mitigations meet their criteria, recommending upgrading to fixed versions when available.

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
Architecture and Design
Funnel all access through a single choke point to simplify how users can access a resource. For every access, perform a check to determine if the user has permissions to access the resource.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-551Incorrect Behavior Order: Authorization Before Parsing and Canonicalization (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
If a web server does not fully parse requested URLs before it examines them for authorization, it may be possible for an attacker to bypass authorization protection.
Architecture and Design
URL Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated and processed for authorization. Make sure that your application does not decode the same input twice.
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 13 Aug 2026, 13:03 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-288, CWE-551

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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