Erlang: >> Erlang/otp >> 17.2.2 Security Vulnerabilities
Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Erlang OTP erts (inet_drv) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash the BEAM VM by sending a crafted SCTP ERROR chunk.
The sctp_parse_error_chunk function in erts/emulator/drivers/common/inet_drv.c parses SCTP ERROR chunks and writes cause codes into a fixed-size stack-allocated ErlDrvTermData spec[] array without checking bounds. A remote attacker who has established an SCTP association to a listening port can send a single crafted SCTP ERROR chunk containing enough cause codes to overflow the stack buffer, crashing the VM. The attacker can only write 16-bit values interleaved with a fixed tag, so the overflow does not provide a controlled return address, limiting exploitation to Denial of Service.
A crafted SCTP ERROR chunk may also leak bits and pieces of Erlang VM memory into the received error packet observed by the Erlang process. Such data is already readable by the user running the Erlang VM, so the disclosure scope is limited.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before 27.3.4.13, 28.5.0.2 and 29.0.2, corresponding to erts from 6.0 before 15.2.7.9, 16.4.0.2 and 17.0.2.
CVSS Score
8.8
EPSS Score
0.005
Published
2026-06-10
Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Erlang OTP (erl_interface) allows Stack-based Buffer Overflow.
This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/erl_interface/src/misc/ei_printterm.c and program routine ei_s_print_term.
The C function ei_s_print_term uses an internal 2000-character stack buffer to format terms. When called with an encoded Erlang term containing a very large integer (encoded representation exceeding 2000 characters), the buffer overflows. The overflow bytes are restricted to the ASCII values of 0-9 and A-F, which limits exploitation to Denial of Service.
The companion function ei_print_term, which prints directly to a FILE instead of a memory buffer, does not contain this bug.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before 27.3.4.13, 28.5.0.2 and 29.0.2, corresponding to erl_interface from 3.7.16 before 5.5.2.1, 5.7.0.1 and 5.8.1.
CVSS Score
6.9
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2026-06-10
Sensitive Data Exposure vulnerability in Erlang OTP inets (httpc_response module) allows Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data.
The httpc client forwards the Authorization and Proxy-Authorization request headers to redirect targets without checking whether the redirect crosses an origin boundary. httpc_response:redirect/2 constructs the redirected request by updating only the host field of the header record; all other fields (including authorization and proxy_authorization) are copied verbatim. The redirect target host is never compared against the original host.
autoredirect defaults to true, so this affects all httpc callers that do not explicitly disable automatic redirects.
An attacker who controls a server that the victim contacts via httpc can issue a cross-origin 3xx redirect to a server they also control. The Authorization header (including Basic credentials derived from URL userinfo via httpc_request:handle_user_info/2) is forwarded to the redirect target, allowing credential theft. The same applies to the Proxy-Authorization header.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/inets/src/http_client/httpc_response.erl.
This issue affects OTP from 17.0 before 29.0.2, 28.5.0.2 and 27.3.4.13 corresponding to inets from 5.10 before 9.7.1, 9.6.2.2 and 9.3.2.6.
CVSS Score
7.1
EPSS Score
0.003
Published
2026-06-10
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows File Discovery.
The SSH_FXP_READLINK handler in ssh_sftpd sends the raw result of file:read_link/2 to the client without calling chroot_filename/2 to strip the backend root prefix. An authenticated SFTP client can create a symlink inside the chroot pointing to /; ssh_sftpd resolves the target to the absolute backend root and stores it on disk. Reading the symlink back via SSH_FXP_READLINK returns that absolute path, for example /data/sftp, instead of the chrooted value /.
The information disclosed is the absolute filesystem path of the SFTP root directory and of any symlink targets within it. No file contents, credentials, or access to paths outside the root directory are obtainable through this issue alone.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before 29.0.2, 28.5.0.2 and 27.3.4.13 corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 before 6.0.1, 5.5.2.1 and 5.2.11.8.
CVSS Score
2.3
EPSS Score
0.003
Published
2026-06-10
Improper Following of a Certificate's Chain of Trust vulnerability in Erlang OTP public_key (pubkey_cert module) allows a non-CA certificate to be accepted as an intermediate issuer, enabling certificate chain forgery.
In lib/public_key/src/pubkey_cert.erl, pubkey_cert:validate_extensions/7 contains two flaws that together allow a certificate with basicConstraints cA:false and no keyUsage extension to be used as an intermediate issuer in a chain passed to public_key:pkix_path_validation/3: the cA:false clause recurses into the remaining extensions without rejecting the certificate when it is in issuer position, and the keyUsage check only fires when the extension is present, so a certificate lacking keyUsage entirely bypasses the keyCertSign enforcement.
Any party holding an end-entity certificate with basicConstraints cA:false and no keyUsage extension, issued by any CA in the victim's trust store, can use that certificate's private key to sign forged leaf certificates for arbitrary identities. public_key:pkix_path_validation/3 accepts the resulting chain, and by extension every TLS or mTLS endpoint built on the OTP ssl application that relies on the default verifier is affected, including server identity verification on the client side and client certificate verification on mTLS servers.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 26.2.5.21, 27.3.4.12, 28.5.0.1, and 29.0.1 corresponding to public_key from 0.22 before 1.15.1.7, 1.17.1.3, 1.20.3.1, and 1.21.1.
CVSS Score
7.0
EPSS Score
0.002
Published
2026-05-27
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to modify file attributes outside the configured chroot directory.
The SFTP daemon (ssh_sftpd) stores the raw, user-supplied path in file handles instead of the chroot-resolved path. When SSH_FXP_FSETSTAT is issued on such a handle, file attributes (permissions, ownership, timestamps) are modified on the real filesystem path, bypassing the root directory boundary entirely.
Any authenticated SFTP user on a server configured with the root option can modify file attributes of files outside the intended chroot boundary. The prerequisite is that a target file must exist on the real filesystem at the same relative path. Note that this vulnerability only allows modification of file attributes; file contents cannot be read or altered through this attack vector.
If the SSH daemon runs as root, this enables direct privilege escalation: an attacker can set the setuid bit on any binary, change ownership of sensitive files, or make system configuration world-writable.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl and program routines ssh_sftpd:do_open/4 and ssh_sftpd:handle_op/4.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 28.4.3, 27.3.4.11, and 26.2.5.20 corresponding to ssh from 3.01 until 5.5.3, 5.2.11.7, and 5.1.4.15.
CVSS Score
5.3
EPSS Score
0.004
Published
2026-04-21
Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Erlang OTP (inets modules) allows unauthenticated access to CGI scripts protected by directory rules when served via script_alias.
When script_alias maps a URL prefix to a directory outside DocumentRoot, mod_auth evaluates directory-based access controls against the DocumentRoot-relative path while mod_cgi executes the script at the ScriptAlias-resolved path. This path mismatch allows unauthenticated access to CGI scripts that directory rules were meant to protect.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/inets/src/http_server/mod_alias.erl, lib/inets/src/http_server/mod_auth.erl, and lib/inets/src/http_server/mod_cgi.erl.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 28.4.2, 27.3.4.10 and 26.2.5.19 corresponding to inets from 5.10 until 9.6.2, 9.3.2.4 and 9.1.0.6.
CVSS Score
8.3
EPSS Score
0.005
Published
2026-04-07
Generation of Predictable Numbers or Identifiers vulnerability in Erlang/OTP kernel (inet_res, inet_db modules) allows DNS Cache Poisoning.
The built-in DNS resolver (inet_res) uses a sequential, process-global 16-bit transaction ID for UDP queries and does not implement source port randomization. Response validation relies almost entirely on this ID, making DNS cache poisoning practical for an attacker who can observe one query or predict the next ID. This conflicts with RFC 5452 recommendations for mitigating forged DNS answers.
inet_res is intended for use in trusted network environments and with trusted recursive resolvers. Earlier documentation did not clearly state this deployment assumption, which could lead users to deploy the resolver in environments where spoofed DNS responses are possible.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/kernel/src/inet_db.erl and lib/kernel/src/inet_res.erl.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 28.4.2, 27.3.4.10 and 26.2.5.19 corresponding to kernel from 3.0 until 10.6.2, 10.2.7.4 and 9.2.4.11.
CVSS Score
6.3
EPSS Score
0.003
Published
2026-04-07
Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request Smuggling') vulnerability in Erlang OTP (inets httpd module) allows HTTP Request Smuggling.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/inets/src/http_server/httpd_request.erl and program routines httpd_request:parse_headers/7.
The server does not reject or normalize duplicate Content-Length headers. The earliest Content-Length in the request is used for body parsing while common reverse proxies (nginx, Apache httpd, Envoy) honor the last Content-Length value. This violates RFC 9112 Section 6.3 and allows front-end/back-end desynchronization, leaving attacker-controlled bytes queued as the start of the next request.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 28.4.1, OTP 27.3.4.9 and OTP 26.2.5.18, corresponding to inets from 5.10 until 9.6.1, 9.3.2.3 and 9.1.0.5.
CVSS Score
7.0
EPSS Score
0.005
Published
2026-03-13
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Erlang OTP (ssh_sftpd module) allows Path Traversal.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl and program routines ssh_sftpd:is_within_root/2.
The SFTP server uses string prefix matching via lists:prefix/2 rather than proper path component validation when checking if a path is within the configured root directory. This allows authenticated users to access sibling directories that share a common name prefix with the configured root directory. For example, if root is set to /home/user1, paths like /home/user10 or /home/user1_backup would incorrectly be considered within the root.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 28.4.1, OTP 27.3.4.9 and OTP 26.2.5.18, corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 until 5.5.1, 5.2.11.6 and 5.1.4.14.
CVSS Score
5.3
EPSS Score
0.004
Published
2026-03-13
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