8.7
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-94197
NGINX Ingress Controller vulnerability
Description

An authentication and authorization bypass vulnerability exists in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller (NIC) when configured with the `ExternalAuth` policy or Ingress external authentication. Client-supplied X-Forwarded-Prefix, X-Forwarded-URI, X-Original-URI, and X-Forwarded-Method routing and method headers are forwarded unsanitized into the internal authentication subrequest (handled by the NGINX auth_request directive). As a result, an unauthenticated, remote attacker may spoof request attributes evaluated by the external authentication provider. Impact: This vulnerability may allow remote attackers unauthenticated access to protected paths. 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.

INFO

Published Date :

Oct. 14, 2026, 3:17 p.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 14, 2026, 3:17 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-94197 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 F5 nginx_ingress_controller
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 9dacffd4-cb11-413f-8451-fbbfd4ddc0ab
CVSS 3.1 HIGH MITRE-CVE
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 9dacffd4-cb11-413f-8451-fbbfd4ddc0ab
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller to the latest version to fix bypass vulnerability.
  • Update NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller to a fixed version.
  • Remove or restrict unsanitized headers.
  • Validate external authentication provider logic.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-94197.

URL Resource
https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000162611
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-94197 is associated with the following CWEs:

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-94197 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-94197 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Oct. 14, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description An authentication and authorization bypass vulnerability exists in F5 NGINX Kubernetes Ingress Controller (NIC) when configured with the `ExternalAuth` policy or Ingress external authentication. Client-supplied X-Forwarded-Prefix, X-Forwarded-URI, X-Original-URI, and X-Forwarded-Method routing and method headers are forwarded unsanitized into the internal authentication subrequest (handled by the NGINX auth_request directive). As a result, an unauthenticated, remote attacker may spoof request attributes evaluated by the external authentication provider. Impact: This vulnerability may allow remote attackers unauthenticated access to protected paths. 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.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
    Added CWE CWE-290
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/94xxx/CVE-2026-94197.json">CVE-2026-94197</a>
    Added Reference https://my.f5.com/manage/s/article/K000162611
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.