Next.js: Unbounded next/image disk cache growth can exhaust storage
## Summary The default Next.js image optimization disk cache (`/_next/image`) did not have a configurable upper bound, allowing unbounded cache growth. ## Impact An attacker could generate many unique image-optimization variants and exhaust disk space, causing denial of service. Note that this does not impact platforms that have their own image optimization capabilities, such as Vercel. ## Patches Fixed by adding an LRU-backed disk cache with `images.maximumDiskCacheSize`, including eviction of least-recently-used entries when the limit is exceeded. Setting `maximumDiskCacheSize: 0` disables disk caching. ## Workarounds If upgrade is not immediately possible: - Periodically clean `.next/cache/images`. - Reduce variant cardinality (e.g., tighten values for `images.localPatterns`, `images.remotePatterns`, and `images.qualities`)
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-27980US | high7.5 | — | ||
Next.js is a React framework for building full-stack web applications. Starting in version 10.0.0 and prior to version 16.1.7, the default Next.js image optimization disk cache (`/… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/vercel/next.jsPACKAGE
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/commit/39eb8e0ac498b48855a0430fbf4c22276a73b4bdWEB
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/releases/tag/v16.1.7WEB
- https://github.com/vercel/next.js/security/advisories/GHSA-3x4c-7xq6-9pq8WEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-27980ADVISORY
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