httpd does not enforce the documented default max_clients connection limit
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in Erlang/OTP inets httpd allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause denial of service by opening and holding open a large number of connections. The max_clients option is documented to default to 150, and the inets hardening guide presents that limit as the first layer of denial-of-service defence, but a server that does not set it explicitly accepts an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. Establishing the connections is sufficient; no valid request and no authentication are required.
The accept gate in httpd_manager:handle_new_connection/4 reads the option
Megaco flex scanner buffer overflow via oversized property parm name
Classic buffer overflow in the Erlang/OTP megaco flex scanner C driver allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to corrupt the driver's memory (and potentially achieve remote code execution or a denial-of-service crash) by sending a single text-encoded H.248/Megaco message containing an oversized property parm name.
When tokenizing a Local/Remote descriptor, mfs_load_property_groups extracts the attacker-controlled property name (bounded only by the message length) and, when no value follows, formats it into a fixed 512-byte error_msg field of the MfsErlDrvData struct using an unchecked sprintf call. Names longer than roughly 452 bytes overf
TLS 1.2 and DTLS client accepts unoffered anonymous cipher suite, bypassing server authentication
The Erlang/OTP ssl TLS 1.2 (and earlier) and DTLS client does not verify that the cipher suite selected by the server in ServerHello was among the suites offered by the client in ClientHello. The client-side tls_handshake:hello/5 handler validates the negotiated protocol version and the downgrade sentinel but hands the server-chosen suite directly to ssl_handshake:handle_server_hello_extensions/9, which installs it without a membership check. The TLS 1.3 client path performs this check (per RFC 8446), so it is not affected.
An on-path attacker between the client and the intended server can respond with a ServerHello selecting an anonymous ke
Relative path traversal in zip:unzip/zip:extract via check_dir_level depth-counter bypass
Relative Path Traversal vulnerability in Erlang OTP (stdlib zip module) allows writing files outside the intended extraction directory via a crafted zip archive.
zip:unzip/1,2 and zip:extract/1,2 validate entry paths using zip:check_dir_level/2, which tracks directory depth as a running integer counter: .. decrements it, normal path components increment it. The caller rejects only paths where the final counter value is less than zero. A path such as ../x/y causes the counter to go negative mid-traversal then recover to zero, passing validation while resolving to a location outside the extraction directory when joined with the current working
epmd permanent DoS via EMFILE on accept(2) in erts
Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in Erlang OTP erts (epmd) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to permanently terminate the Erlang Port Mapper Daemon (epmd) via connection slot exhaustion.
The do_accept function in erts/epmd/src/epmd_srv.c calls epmd_cleanup_exit() when accept(2) returns EMFILE (per-process file descriptor limit reached) or ENFILE (system-wide file descriptor limit reached), rather than treating these as recoverable conditions. An attacker can exhaust epmd's file descriptor slots by holding many TCP connections open while periodically sending a single byte to reset the idle timeout, then causin
TLS/DTLS denial of service via unbounded recursion on cross-signed peer certificate chain
The Erlang/OTP ssl application does not detect cycles when reconstructing an incomplete peer certificate chain during a TLS or DTLS handshake. In ssl_certificate:handle_incomplete_chain/5, the received chain is passed to ssl_certificate:build_certificate_chain/5, which walks issuer relationships via ssl_certificate:do_certificate_chain/7 with no cycle detection and no depth limit. When the peer supplies two mutually cross-signed certificates in unordered form (A issues B, B issues A), the issuer lookup alternates between the two certificates and the pair of functions recurses indefinitely, growing the call stack and chain accumulator without
Plaintext APPLICATION_DATA injected during TLS handshake delivered to client application post-handshake in ssl
Improper Enforcement of Message Integrity During Transmission in a Communication Channel vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (tls_gen_connection module) allows a network-positioned attacker to inject unauthenticated plaintext that the TLS client application later treats as authenticated server data.
The function tls_gen_connection:handle_protocol_record/3 rejects APPLICATION_DATA records that arrive in pre-handshake states when the TLS endpoint acts as a server, but does not apply the same check when the endpoint acts as a client. A network-positioned attacker can send plaintext APPLICATION_DATA records to the client during the handshake. The re
SSH SFTP server denial of service via extended channel data infinite loop
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to render an SFTP channel permanently unresponsive.
The handle_data/4 function in ssh_sftpd contains a catch-all clause that accepts channel data of any type. When channel data with a non-zero type code (SSH_MSG_CHANNEL_EXTENDED_DATA) arrives with an empty pending buffer and a payload at or below the SFTP packet size limit, the clause tail-calls itself with identical arguments, creating an infinite loop.
The SFTP protocol operates exclusively on normal channel data (type 0). Extended data (non-zero type
TLS 1.3 server denial of service via malformed ClientHello pre-shared key extension
The Erlang/OTP ssl application does not validate that the PSK identity list and binder list carried in a TLS 1.3 ClientHello pre-shared key extension have equal length before passing them to the session ticket handler. In tls_handshake_1_3:handle_pre_shared_key/3, an OfferedPreSharedKeys record with a mismatched number of identities and binders is forwarded directly to tls_server_session_ticket:use/4, which crashes the session ticket handler process.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can send a single crafted ClientHello to a TLS 1.3 server with session tickets enabled (stateful or stateless mode) and permanently disrupt session ticket hand
DTLS server cookie bypass during startup window due to empty initial cookie secret
Use of Default Cryptographic Key vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (DTLS server) allows predictable DTLS cookie computation during the startup window, enabling source address verification bypass.
On DTLS server startup, dtls_server_connection:initial_hello/3 initializes previous_cookie_secret to the empty binary (<<>>) instead of a random value. Because HMAC with an empty key is deterministic, anyone who observes the plaintext ClientHello can compute dtls_handshake:cookie(<<>>, IP, Port, Hello) and forge a valid DTLS cookie before the first rotation of the cookie secret. The DTLS cookie (RFC 6347 §4.2.1) is a denial-of-service mitigation that
Observable Response Discrepancy vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to enumerate the existence of files and directories outside the configured root directory.
The SSH_FXP_REALPATH handler in ssh_sftpd calls relate_file_name/3 with Canonicalize=false, unlike every other SFTP operation handler. This allows .. components in the requested path to bypass the is_within_root/2 check without being resolved. The un-canonicalized path then enters resolve_symlinks/2, which walks up the directory tree above the configured root and issues read_link() syscalls on arbitrary filesystem paths.
An authenticate
httpc leaks Authorization header to cross-origin redirect targets
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 explic
SFTP READLINK Leaks Absolute Backend Filesystem Path When Root Is Configured
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 p
ftp client PASV response IP not validated against control peer, enabling SSRF and FTP bounce attacks
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ftp (ftp_internal module) allows FTP bounce attacks and SSRF via an unvalidated PASV response IP address.
The ftp_internal:handle_ctrl_result/2 PASV handler (mode=passive, ipfamily=inet, ftp_extension=false) extracts the IP address from the server's 227 response and passes it directly to gen_tcp:connect/4 without validating it against the control connection peer address. The adjacent EPSV handlers correctly call peername(CSock) to derive the IP from the control connection, but the PASV handler does not. A malicious or compromised FTP server can redirect the client's data connecti
Stack buffer overflow in SCTP error cause parsing in inet_drv allows remote VM crash
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 fi
Stack Buffer Overflow in ei_s_print_term at Very Large Integer
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 d
nameConstraints DNS bypass via subject CommonName fallback in public_key hostname verification
Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in Erlang OTP public_key (pubkey_cert and public_key modules) allows a DNS nameConstraints bypass via subject CommonName fallback in TLS hostname verification.
Two flaws combine to allow a subordinate CA whose DNS nameConstraints are restricted (e.g. permitted;DNS:allowed.example.com) to issue a leaf certificate that an OTP TLS client accepts as a valid identity for an out-of-scope hostname (e.g. victim.example.com):
First, pubkey_cert:validate_names/6 in lib/public_key/src/pubkey_cert.erl only checks SAN DNS entries against nameConstraints. Per RFC 5280, a permitted DNS subtree only restricts c
Non-CA certificate accepted as intermediate issuer in public_key path validation
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 fi
SFTP chroot bypass via path traversal in SSH_FXP_FSETSTAT
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
ScriptAlias CGI targets bypass directory auth in inets httpd (mod_auth vs mod_cgi path mismatch)
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