CVE-2026-42533 — A vulnerability exists in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source when a map directive uses…¶

Key facts

CVE-2026-42533 is a High (8.1) vulnerability: A vulnerability exists in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source when a map directive uses…. This entry ships a detection-only PoC and a Docker test lab.


CVE	CVE-2026-42533
Severity	High (8.1)
Detection / prevention	—
PoC	poc.py
Source	2026/CVE-2026-42533/

Details¶

English | 한국어

Description¶

A vulnerability exists in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source when a map directive uses regex matching and a string expression references the map's regex capture variables before referencing the map output variable. Alternatively, the same result could be achieved by using a non-cacheable variable in a string expression under certain conditions. An unauthenticated attacker along with conditions beyond their control can exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests. This may cause a heap buffer overflow in the NGINX worker process leading to a restart. 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 or to possibly trigger a 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.

Vulnerability Details¶

Property	Value
CVE ID	CVE-2026-42533
Type	RCE
CVSS Score	8.1

Proof of Concept¶

Download¶

# Download PoC script
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fankh/vulnerability-poc/main/2026/CVE-2026-42533/poc.py

Usage¶

# Run PoC against target
python3 poc.py --target <TARGET_URL>

# With authentication
python3 poc.py --target <TARGET_URL> --username <USER> --password <PASS>

⚠️ Warning: This PoC is for authorized security testing only. It uses detection-only techniques and does not exploit or damage target systems.

Test Lab¶

This repository includes a Docker-based test environment with both vulnerable and patched applications.

Quick Start¶

# Clone and navigate to CVE directory
cd CVE-2026-42533

# Start both applications
docker-compose up -d

# Run tests
./run-tests.sh    # Linux/Mac
./run-tests.ps1   # Windows PowerShell

Application Endpoints¶

Application	URL	Status
Vulnerable App	http://localhost:8080	Shows vulnerability
Patched App	http://localhost:8081	Demonstrates fix

Directory Structure¶

├── README.md           # English documentation
├── README_KO.md        # Korean documentation
├── poc.py              # PoC detection script
├── docker-compose.yml  # Container orchestration
├── run-tests.sh        # Linux/Mac test runner
├── run-tests.ps1       # Windows test runner
├── vulnerable-app/     # Vulnerable version
│   ├── app.py
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── requirements.txt
└── patched-app/        # Fixed version
    ├── app.py
    ├── Dockerfile
    └── requirements.txt

References¶

https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000162097

Generated by PoC Generator on 2026-07-16T10:39:09.313113383

Frequently asked questions¶

What is CVE-2026-42533?¶

CVE-2026-42533 is a High (8.1) vulnerability: A vulnerability exists in NGINX Plus and NGINX Open Source when a map directive uses…. This entry ships a detection-only PoC and a Docker test lab.

How do I detect CVE-2026-42533?¶

Run the detection-only PoC included with this entry against your Docker test lab to confirm whether a target is affected; pair it with your own IDS logging.

How do I block or mitigate CVE-2026-42533?¶

Upgrade to a fixed version per the vendor advisory; the NVD record lists the affected versions. Use the included PoC to verify your remediation.

For authorized security testing and research only. See the full source and NVD record.