CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-75538NVD status: Deferred

OTP: Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-75538 is a high-severity heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in OTP from Erlang, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.2 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists version 08e8efdba8500d2d6f54c6b1de1492b228017c9b as the first without the flaw, so updating OTP to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.85% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 59% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update OTP to 08e8efdba8500d2d6f54c6b1de1492b228017c9b or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
ErlangOTP17.0 and later; 6.0 and later; 84adefa331c4159d432d22840663c38f155cd4c1 up to, but not including, 08e8efdba8500d2d6f54c6b1de1492b228017c9b08e8efdba8500d2d6f54c6b1de1492b228017c9b

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
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Attack requirements
PresentThe target must be in a specific state or configuration for the attack to work.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
NoneNo loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
NoneNo loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
NoneNo loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
NoneNo loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/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. Scored by CNA.

Official description

An attacker that connects to an open Erlang TCP port that uses the inet driver with {packet,4} mode can use a signed overflow in an incorrect packet length calculation to overflow the receive buffer into the VM allocator area and beyond up to about 2 GB. This would easily trash the allocated block's allocator metadata footer, and the next block, if any, and most likely cause the BEAM VM to crash. Utilizing this with precision enough to achieve Remote Code Execution would be extremely unfeasible. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 27.3.4.17, OTP 28.5.0.6, and OTP 29.0.6, corresponding to erts from 6.0 before 15.2.7.13, 16.4.0.6, and 17.0.6. Whether OTP before OTP 17.0, corresponding to erts before 6.0, is affected is unknown.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Heap-based Buffer Overflow

The product writes past the end of a buffer that was allocated on the heap.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Pre-design: Use a language or compiler that performs automatic bounds checking.
  • Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.

More Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities (CWE-122)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in OTP

All OTP vulnerabilities

Recent Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities

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