Cyber security

Doing The Due Diligence : Analyzing The Next.js Middleware Bypass (CVE-2025-29927)

A critical vulnerability, CVE-2025-29927, has recently been identified in the Next.js ecosystem, allowing attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms implemented at the middleware layer.

This vulnerability has caused significant concern among developers and security researchers, as it can lead to unauthorized access, Content Security Policy (CSP) bypasses, and even Denial of Service (DoS) attacks via cache poisoning.

Affected Versions And Remediation

The vulnerability affects Next.js versions 15.x < 15.2.3, 14.x < 14.2.25, and 13.x < 13.5.9. To mitigate this issue, it is crucial to upgrade to the latest versions: Next.js 15.2.3 or higher, 14.2.25 or higher, and 13.5.9 or higher.

Challenges With Publicly Disclosed Checks

Publicly disclosed checks for this vulnerability often rely on detecting rewrite logic in middleware responses, using headers like x-middleware-rewrite, x-middleware-next, and x-middleware-redirect.

However, these checks fail to account for applications that use redirects instead of rewrites, leading to missed vulnerabilities.

Additionally, these checks can generate false positives due to common locale-based redirects.

Building A More Reliable Check

To improve detection, researchers at Assetnote developed a more reliable method.

By sending the x-nextjs-data: 1 header in an HTTP request, Next.js can be coerced into responding with internal headers like x-nextjs-redirect, which are not accounted for in public checks.

This approach helps identify middleware redirects more accurately.

To simplify exploitation, a polyglot payload was designed for the X-Middleware-Subrequest header. This payload covers various potential bypass cases in a single request, reducing the number of requests needed to validate the vulnerability.

The Next.js middleware bypass vulnerability highlights the importance of thorough security research and accurate scanning methodologies.

By understanding how middleware is commonly used in Next.js applications and developing more sophisticated checks, organizations can better protect their attack surfaces and prevent exploitation of this critical vulnerability.

Assetnote’s approach demonstrates the value of comprehensive security analysis in identifying and remediating vulnerabilities effectively.

Varshini

Varshini is a Cyber Security expert in Threat Analysis, Vulnerability Assessment, and Research. Passionate about staying ahead of emerging Threats and Technologies.

Recent Posts

Pystinger : Bypass Firewall For Traffic Forwarding Using Webshell

Pystinger is a Python-based tool that enables SOCKS4 proxying and port mapping through webshells. It…

2 hours ago

CVE-Search : A Tool To Perform Local Searches For Known Vulnerabilities

Introduction When it comes to cybersecurity, speed and privacy are critical. Public vulnerability databases like…

2 hours ago

CVE-Search : A Tool To Perform Local Searches For Known Vulnerabilities

Introduction When it comes to cybersecurity, speed and privacy are critical. Public vulnerability databases like…

21 hours ago

How to Bash Append to File: A Simple Guide for Beginners

If you are working with Linux or writing bash scripts, one of the most common…

22 hours ago

Mastering the Bash Case Statement with Simple Examples

What is a bash case statement? A bash case statement is a way to control…

22 hours ago

How to Check if a File Exists in Bash – Simply Explained

Why Do We Check Files in Bash? When writing a Bash script, you often work…

3 days ago