NULL pointer dereference in F5 nginx JavaScript

CVE-2026-78222

A vulnerability exists in NGINX JavaScript where a malformed HTTP response received by ngx.fetch() can crash an NGINX worker when trusted JavaScript reads Response.statusText. Exploitation requires control or influence over the fetched HTTP response. Impact: This vulnerability may allow remote attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX system. 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.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.006 (48.8th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 49th percentile — 48.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-78222: held from 0.004 to 0.006.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.006 · change: +0.003

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-78222?
CVE-2026-78222 is a high-severity vulnerability in F5 nginx JavaScript, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-09-02.
How severe is CVE-2026-78222?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.