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CVE-2026-60005 – Memory Disclosure / DoS – NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source

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Summary

CVE-2026-60005 is a high-severity uninitialized memory access vulnerability (CWE-908) in the ngx_http_slice_module of NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source, assigned a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.2 (HIGH). The flaw allows unauthenticated remote attackers to trigger limited disclosure of NGINX worker process memory or cause a worker process restart (denial of service) by sending crafted HTTP requests — no credentials or user interaction required.

Technical details

  • Root cause: Use of an uninitialized resource (CWE-908) within the ngx_http_slice_module request-handling logic, causing the NGINX worker process to access memory that has not been properly initialized.
  • Trigger conditions: Two distinct scenarios can trigger the flaw: (1) when the slice directive and unnamed regex captures are configured together in an NGINX location block, or (2) during a background cache update.
  • Attack vector: Fully network-accessible with no authentication, no privileges, and no user interaction required (CVSS AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N).
  • Impact: Dual-impact — limited disclosure of in-memory contents of the NGINX worker process (potentially including sensitive data processed in flight), and/or a forced restart of the worker process causing a service disruption.
  • Scope: Data plane only; F5 has confirmed there is no control plane exposure.
  • Module prerequisite: The ngx_http_slice_module is not compiled in by default. It must be explicitly enabled at build time with the --with-http_slice_module configuration parameter. The module is available in standard NGINX package distributions and is commonly enabled in production deployments that use NGINX for byte-range-based caching of large files.

Affected software

  • NGINX Plus R37: builds prior to 37.0.3.1
  • NGINX Plus R36: releases before R36 P7
  • NGINX Plus R35 and earlier: all releases (note: versions that have reached End of Technical Support are not evaluated by F5)
  • NGINX Open Source (mainline): versions prior to 1.31.3
  • NGINX Open Source (stable): versions prior to 1.30.4

Severity

CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 8.2 (HIGH)
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H

CVSS v4.0 Base Score: 8.8 (HIGH)
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate — upgrade to a fixed version:
    • NGINX Plus R37: upgrade to build 37.0.3.1 or later.
    • NGINX Plus R36: upgrade to R36 P7 or later.
    • NGINX Open Source (mainline): upgrade to 1.31.3 or later.
    • NGINX Open Source (stable): upgrade to 1.30.4 or later.
  • If immediate patching is not feasible:
    • Audit your NGINX build configuration to determine whether --with-http_slice_module was included at compile time. If the module is not compiled in, the system is not affected by this vulnerability.
    • If the module is enabled but slice directives or background cache updates are not in active use, consider disabling the slice directive in your NGINX configuration as an interim measure.
    • Apply network-level access controls to limit exposure of affected NGINX instances to untrusted networks while a patch window is arranged.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

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