Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessReach HTTP/3 listener on nginx proxy
-
DeliverySend crafted HTTP/3 request frames
-
ExploitTrigger encoding error in ngx_http_v3_module
-
ExecutionInject data into buffered proxied request
-
ImpactTainted request reaches upstream backend
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the proxy to be running HTTP/3 (the ngx_http_v3_module, i.e. a QUIC 'listen ... quic' listener) AND the proxy_request_buffering on directive active on the proxied location. Both conditions must hold simultaneously; HTTP/3 is not enabled in default nginx builds/configurations, which is the primary limiting factor and sharply narrows the exposed population despite the unauthenticated network vector. Impact is limited to injecting data into the request forwarded to the upstream (integrity only); there is no confidentiality loss, no availability loss, and F5 states no control-plane exposure. Instances serving only HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2, or with request buffering off, are not affected. |
| Impact | Signals point to a moderate, not critical, priority. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N) describes a network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated flaw, which sounds alarming, but the impact metrics sharply constrain it: VC:N/VI:L/VA:N means confidentiality and availability are untouched and only a LOW integrity effect (data injection into the proxied request) applies, yielding a 6.9 Medium score. F5 explicitly scopes this to the data plane with no control-plane exposure, and sets all subsequent-system metrics (SC/SI/SA) to N, so no scope change onto another system is claimed. There is no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC in the provided data - so this is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis,' and the unauthenticated network reach is heavily gated by a non-default precondition (HTTP/3 via ngx_http_v3_module must be enabled). Net: a real but bounded data-plane integrity issue, not a high-urgency RCE; the headline 'unauthenticated/network' attributes overstate real-world exposure because HTTP/3 is not enabled in most nginx deployments. Note: CWE-172 (encoding error) and the 'inject data in the proxied request' wording are consistent with an HTTP/3 request-handling/smuggling-style defect rather than code execution, despite the 'Code Injection' tag. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker reaches an internet-facing nginx/NGINX Plus instance that has HTTP/3 enabled and proxy_request_buffering on, then sends crafted HTTP/3 request traffic that is improperly decoded and relayed to the upstream. The malformed framing lets the attacker inject attacker-controlled data into the request forwarded to the backend, potentially poisoning or smuggling content to the proxied application. No authentication is required, but no public exploit code is identified at time of analysis. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Remote, unauthenticated data injection into upstream requests affects NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source deployments that terminate HTTP/3 via the ngx_http_v3_module and have the proxy_request_buffering on directive active on the proxied location. An attacker able to reach such a listener can cause attacker-controlled bytes to be blended into the request forwarded to the backend, an integrity-only problem (CVSS 4.0 base 6.9; independent CVSS 3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N) with no confidentiality loss, no availability loss, and, per F5, no control-plane exposure. Exposure is sharply narrowed because HTTP/3 is not enabled in default nginx builds and exploitation requires both a QUIC listener and request buffering; no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released fixed version is identified in the available intelligence, so the F5 advisory at https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000162613 is the authoritative source for update guidance and should be monitored for a patched NGINX Plus / NGINX Open Source release; upgrade as soon as a fixed build is published. Until then, the most direct compensating control is to set proxy_request_buffering off for the affected proxied locations, which removes the vulnerable buffering path entirely but trades off streaming semantics - the request body is passed to the upstream as it arrives, which can expose the backend to slow-client behaviour and change how retries and Content-Length handling work. An alternative with a broader blast radius is to disable HTTP/3 altogether by removing the 'listen ... quic' listener (or omitting the --with-http_v3_module build option) and serving HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2 only, accepting the loss of QUIC performance benefits; this eliminates the vulnerable code path regardless of buffering settings. Because the flaw is unauthenticated over the network, also restrict QUIC listeners to trusted network segments or place them behind an edge filter as a defense-in-depth measure while awaiting a patch.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 2 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
NGINX's HTTP/3 support is implemented by the ngx_http_v3_module, which transports request data over QUIC streams instead of TCP. With proxy_request_buffering set to on, nginx reads and buffers the complete client request body before forwarding the request to the upstream server; the defect is an encoding/framing error (CWE-172, Encoding Error) in that buffering path when HTTP/3 is in use, allowing attacker-supplied data to be injected into the request that nginx sends upstream. The supplied CPE records (cpe:2.3:a:f5:nginx_plus:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and cpe:2.3:a:f5:nginx_open_source:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) do not constrain versions, consistent with a module-level flaw affecting any build compiled with HTTP/3 support. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N) and the independent 3.1 assessment agree that only the integrity of the proxied request is impacted: no data disclosure, no denial of service, no downstream/other-component impact. Versions that have reached End of Technical Support are explicitly outside the scope of F5's evaluation.
Know when Nginx Plus gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Remote unauthenticated HTTP/3 request processing gives AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N; only request data is tainted so I:L with C:N/A:N, and F5 claims no cross-system scope change (S:U).
Primary rating from Vendor (f5).
CVSS VectorVendor: f5
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
Description NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source have a vulnerability in the ngx_http_v3_module module. When using HTTP/3 with
proxy_request_buffering on directive, an unauthenticated attacker may be able to inject data in the proxied request.
Impact
This vulnerability may allow remote attackers to
inject data in the proxied request. There is no control plane exposure; this is a data plane issue only.
Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.
More in Nginx Plus
View allDenial of service against HTTP/2 server implementations allows remote unauthenticated attackers to exhaust server resour
Heap buffer overflow in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source ngx_http_rewrite_module allows remote attackers to crash worker
Heap-based buffer overflow in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source affects deployments that proxy HTTP/2 or gRPC traffic ups
Heap buffer overflow in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source ngx_http_rewrite_module can be triggered by unauthenticated rem
Heap buffer overflow in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source lets unauthenticated remote attackers crash worker processes (D
Unauthenticated remote attackers can trigger a use-after-free in NGINX's ngx_http_core_module when asynchronous file I/O
Heap buffer overflow in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source can be triggered by crafted HTTP requests when a non-default ma
Heap buffer overflow in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source can be triggered by unauthenticated remote attackers through cr
Limited memory disclosure and worker-process restart in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source arise when the optional ngx_htt
Buffer overflow in NGINX's DAV module allows remote attackers to crash worker processes or manipulate file names outside
NGINX worker process crashes via null pointer dereference in the mail authentication module when CRAM-MD5 or APOP authen
When the NGINX Plus is configured to use the MQTT pre-read module, undisclosed requests can cause an increase in memory
EUVD-2026-101119
GHSA-g6r5-95cx-mpp9
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB