A vulnerability exists in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source when a map directive uses regex matching and the root directive or access log format references the map's regex capture variables before referencing the map output variable. Alternatively, the same result could be achieved by using a non-cacheable variable in a string expression under certain conditions. An unauthenticated attacker along with conditions beyond their control can exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests. This may cause a heap buffer overflow in the NGINX worker process leading to a restart. Additionally, attackers can execute code on systems with Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) disabled or when the attacker can bypass ASLR.

Impact: 
This vulnerability may allow remote attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX system or to possibly trigger a code execution. 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.

Project Subscriptions

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Advisories

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Fixes

Solution

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Workaround

To mitigate this vulnerability, do not use unnamed captures. Use named captures instead and limit their usage to the block with the regex match.

History

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A vulnerability exists in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source when a map directive uses regex matching and the root directive or access log format references the map's regex capture variables before referencing the map output variable. Alternatively, the same result could be achieved by using a non-cacheable variable in a string expression under certain conditions. An unauthenticated attacker along with conditions beyond their control can exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests. This may cause a heap buffer overflow in the NGINX worker process leading to a restart. Additionally, attackers can execute code on systems with Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) disabled or when the attacker can bypass ASLR. Impact:  This vulnerability may allow remote attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX system or to possibly trigger a code execution. 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.
Title NGINX map directive and regex matching vulnerability
Weaknesses CWE-122
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 8.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 9.2, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: f5

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-14T14:40:27.107Z

Reserved: 2026-09-30T21:56:14.601Z

Link: CVE-2026-93479

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-10-14T15:17:26.810

Modified: 2026-10-14T16:04:11.750

Link: CVE-2026-93479

cve-icon Redhat

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cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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Weaknesses