CVE-2026-97205
8.1HighPublished 14 Oct 2026 · NVD status: Awaiting Analysis · AI triage by gemini-3.8-flash
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Impact
- Full C/I/A compromise
- Weakness
- CWE-416
Impact
Remote attackers can crash worker processes or execute arbitrary code if ASLR is disabled or bypassed. Exploitation requires network access to request an SSI page containing 'include virtual' directives on instances running asynchronous file I/O (AIO).
Root cause
A use-after-free condition in ngx_http_core_module triggered when processing SSI 'include virtual' directives with asynchronous file I/O (AIO) enabled.
Affected systems
Versions not listed — check the vendor advisory.
CVSS v3.1 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Fix & remediation
Upgrade to the patched NGINX release once specified by the vendor; as an interim workaround, disable asynchronous file I/O (remove or set 'aio off;' in nginx.conf) or disable Server Side Includes ('ssi off;').
$ nginx -V && grep -En 'aio|ssi' /etc/nginx/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/conf.d/*AI-suggested. Run it in staging first and check it against the vendor advisory. Why?
NVD description
NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source have a vulnerability in the ngx_http_core_module module. When asynchronous file I/O (AIO) is enabled in certain configurations, processing a Server Side Includes (SSI) page containing “include virtual” commands may trigger a Use-After-Free (UAF) in the NGINX worker process. This may cause memory corruption or a worker process crash. 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, corrupt its memory, or possibly trigger 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.