opentelemetry-go: Untrusted Search Path
CVE-2026-39883 is a high-severity untrusted search path vulnerability in opentelemetry-go from Open-telemetry, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected opentelemetry-go versions: >= 1.15.0, < 1.43.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.26% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Opentelemetry to 1.43.0 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-telemetry | opentelemetry-go | >= 1.15.0, < 1.43.0 | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.19 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.8 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.22 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Workload Availability 0.3 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenShift Workload Availability 0.8 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Opentelemetry | Opentelemetry | 1.15.0 up to, but not including, 1.43.0 | 1.43.0 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 7.3 | High | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.0 | High | NVD |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.0 | High | CISA (ADP) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.8 | High | CNA |
Official description
OpenTelemetry-Go is the Go implementation of OpenTelemetry. From 1.15.0 to 1.42.0, the fix for CVE-2026-24051 changed the Darwin ioreg command to use an absolute path but left the BSD kenv command using a bare name, allowing the same PATH hijacking attack on BSD and Solaris platforms. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.43.0.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Untrusted Search Path
The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
- When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames. The portability can be improved by locating the full-qualified paths in a centralized, easily-modifiable location within the source code, and having the code refer to these paths.
- Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Advisories
- github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-hfvc-g4fc-pqhxExploit, Third Party Advisory
Patches and release notes
Other references
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26254
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26257
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:37387
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54274
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54286
- access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63140
- access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-39883
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2456718
- security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-39883.json
Other vulnerabilities in opentelemetry-go
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
Recent Untrusted Search Path vulnerabilities
- 7.3 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
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