CVE-2026-52865: CWE-476 NULL Pointer Dereference in F5 NGINX Ingress Controller
When NGINX Ingress Controller processes Ingress or TransportServer resources, an authenticated, remote attacker with permission to create or modify Ingress or TransportServer resources can cause the NGINX Ingress Controller process to terminate. Impact: The NGINX Ingress Controller control plane process terminates and enters a persistent crash loop while the malformed Ingress or TransportServer resource remains in the cluster. This vulnerability allows a remote, authenticated attacker with at least Ingress or TransportServer resource write access to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX Ingress Controller system. There is no data plane exposure; this is a control plane issue only. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability CVE-2026-52865 in F5 NGINX Ingress Controller arises when processing Ingress or TransportServer resources. An authenticated remote attacker with write permissions to these resources can supply malformed configurations that cause a NULL pointer dereference, leading the NGINX Ingress Controller control plane process to terminate and enter a persistent crash loop. This disrupts the control plane availability but does not expose the data plane to compromise. The affected versions are exactly 5.0.0 and 2026-lts-r1. No official patch or remediation level has been published as of the data provided.
Potential Impact
The impact is a denial-of-service (DoS) condition on the NGINX Ingress Controller control plane. The controller process repeatedly crashes and restarts while the malformed resource remains in the cluster, potentially disrupting ingress traffic management. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact, and the data plane remains unaffected.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, restrict write permissions to Ingress and TransportServer resources to trusted users only to prevent exploitation. Monitor for and remove any malformed Ingress or TransportServer resources that could trigger the crash loop.
CVE-2026-52865: CWE-476 NULL Pointer Dereference in F5 NGINX Ingress Controller
Description
When NGINX Ingress Controller processes Ingress or TransportServer resources, an authenticated, remote attacker with permission to create or modify Ingress or TransportServer resources can cause the NGINX Ingress Controller process to terminate. Impact: The NGINX Ingress Controller control plane process terminates and enters a persistent crash loop while the malformed Ingress or TransportServer resource remains in the cluster. This vulnerability allows a remote, authenticated attacker with at least Ingress or TransportServer resource write access to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX Ingress Controller system. There is no data plane exposure; this is a control plane issue only. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
Affected software
pkg:github/f5/nginx-ingress-controllerRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability CVE-2026-52865 in F5 NGINX Ingress Controller arises when processing Ingress or TransportServer resources. An authenticated remote attacker with write permissions to these resources can supply malformed configurations that cause a NULL pointer dereference, leading the NGINX Ingress Controller control plane process to terminate and enter a persistent crash loop. This disrupts the control plane availability but does not expose the data plane to compromise. The affected versions are exactly 5.0.0 and 2026-lts-r1. No official patch or remediation level has been published as of the data provided.
Potential Impact
The impact is a denial-of-service (DoS) condition on the NGINX Ingress Controller control plane. The controller process repeatedly crashes and restarts while the malformed resource remains in the cluster, potentially disrupting ingress traffic management. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact, and the data plane remains unaffected.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, restrict write permissions to Ingress and TransportServer resources to trusted users only to prevent exploitation. Monitor for and remove any malformed Ingress or TransportServer resources that could trigger the crash loop.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- f5
- Date Reserved
- 2026-06-17T23:45:50.281Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a579dce68715ace43e953cf
Added to database: 07/15/2026, 14:48:46 UTC
Last enriched: 07/15/2026, 15:08:02 UTC
Last updated: 07/15/2026, 16:03:40 UTC
Views: 4
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