CVE-2026-52865: nginx ingress Null Dereference — Fix

Description

When NGINX Ingress Controller processes Ingress or TransportServer resources, an authenticated, remote attacker with permission to create or modify Ingress or TransportServer resources can cause the NGINX Ingress Controller process to terminate. Impact: The NGINX Ingress Controller control plane process terminates and enters a persistent crash loop while the malformed Ingress or TransportServer resource remains in the cluster. This vulnerability allows a remote, authenticated attacker with at least Ingress or TransportServer resource write access to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX Ingress Controller system. There is no data plane exposure; this is a control plane issue only. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0029

Probability of exploitation

0.21%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
f5	nginx_ingress_controller	3.5.0 — 3.7.2
f5	nginx_ingress_controller	4.0.0 — 4.0.1
f5	nginx_ingress_controller	5.0.0 — 5.5.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000161834

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-52865? +

When NGINX Ingress Controller processes Ingress or TransportServer resources, an authenticated, remote attacker with permission to create or modify Ingress or TransportServer resources can cause the NGINX Ingress Controller process to terminate. Impact: The NGINX Ingress Controller control plane process terminates and enters a persistent crash loop while the malformed Ingress or TransportServer resource remains in the cluster. This vulnerability allows a remote, authenticated attacker with at least Ingress or TransportServer resource write access to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) on the NGINX Ingress Controller system. There is no data plane exposure; this is a control plane issue only. Note: Software versions which have reached End of Technical Support (EoTS) are not evaluated. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-52865? +

CVE-2026-52865 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance. The EPSS score is 0.0029, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-52865? +

CVE-2026-52865 affects products from f5, specifically: nginx_ingress_controller. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-52865? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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