Summary

  • CVE-2025-29927 is a critical vulnerability in the Next.js web framework that allows attackers to bypass authentication and authorisation.
  • This middleware authorisation bypass vulnerability allows attackers to remove authentication and access restrictions on websites built using the Next.js framework, including e-commerce sites and SaaS applications.
  • The bypass works by adding a specific HTTP header into the request, which then skips middleware processing and allows the user to access protected routes.
  • The vulnerability was discovered by Rachid and Yasser Allam and affects all versions of Next.js prior to 14.2.25 and 15.2.3.
  • It can be detected by monitoring request logs and network traffic for signs of the ‘x-middleware-subrequest’ header.
  • Temporary solutions include blocking requests that contain this header at the web server level, whilst Next.js users should update to a patched version as soon as possible.
  • Developers are also urged not to rely solely on middleware for authentication and to implement additional checks.

By Chetan Chinchulkar

Original Article