next.js cache leak on warm `use cache` handlers accessing root param

Summary

Next.js versions from 16.3.0 to 16.3.7 warm `use cache` handlers using `next/root-params` and can leak their return value to pages with different root params. With Cache Components enabled (cacheComponents: true), a 'use cache' function that calls another 'use cache' function that reads a root param can be keyed incorrectly when the inner call is served from an existing entry: the enclosing function's cache key then omits that root param. The enclosing entry is written once and reused for all root param values, so a response for one root param value can serve content produced for a different value — whether the page is prerendered at build time or at runtime, or rendered dynamically. Shared cache headers let downstream caches redistribute the content further. What values are leaked cannot be attacker controlled. Which value's content is served depends only on which invocation wrote the entry first. This has been patched in 16.3.8.

Timeline

1. Oct 1, 2026, 2:50 PM UTCCVE published
2. Oct 1, 2026, 4:09 PM UTCCISA SSVC assessment

   Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial

3. Oct 1, 2026, 4:09 PM UTCRecord last updated

Affected versions

• vercel next.js

  fixed in 16.3.8

• nextnpm

  From 16.3.0 · fixed in 16.3.8

References 2