Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This issue can let an unauthenticated internet user exhaust memory on affected self-hosted Next.js applications. The impact is availability: the site or service may slow down or crash. Sources identify fixed Next.js versions, but do not state active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for public self-hosted Next.js services because exploitation could cause outages without authentication. Treat this as an availability risk, not a confirmed breach indicator.
Technical view
Affected self-hosted Next.js versions fetch eligible local images through the default Image Optimization API without a maximum size limit. Requests to /_next/image for large local assets matching images.localPatterns can trigger out-of-memory conditions. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.5, with network attack vector and high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in self-hosted Next.js applications running versions >=10.0.0 and <15.5.16, or >=16.0.0 and <16.2.5, using the default image loader and reachable Image Optimization API.
Exploitation context
The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The issue is remotely reachable, requires no authentication or user interaction, and targets service availability rather than data confidentiality or integrity.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strong for affected versions, root cause, endpoint, and fixed releases. Evidence is incomplete for exploitation in the wild and for formal mitigations beyond upgrading. Avoid assuming Vercel-hosted exposure unless vendor guidance says so.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected Next.js 15.x deployments to 15.5.16 or later.
- Upgrade affected Next.js 16.x deployments to 16.2.5 or later.
- Inventory self-hosted Next.js applications using the default image loader.
- Review Vercel and Red Hat advisories for package-specific guidance.
- Check vendor guidance before applying temporary configuration workarounds.
Validation and detection
- Confirm each application’s installed Next.js version.
- Confirm whether the deployment is self-hosted.
- Review Next.js image loader configuration for default loader usage.
- Check whether /_next/image is internet reachable.
- Verify remediation by confirming patched versions in build artifacts.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-770: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-44577 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6redhat-SADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.23.6GitHub_MVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.9MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Made public.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Reported to Red Hat.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2026-05-13T18:01:35.713Z: Reported to Red Hat.
- 2026-05-13T17:00:02.786Z: Made public.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/security/advisories/GHSA-h64f-5h5j-jqjhCVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44577CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2477194CVE reference, redhat-SADP · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-44577.jsonCVE reference, redhat-SADP · x_sadp-csaf-vex
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:37272CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:34608CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.