CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-81192NVD status: Deferred

opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib: Untrusted Search Path

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-81192 is a high-severity untrusted search path vulnerability in opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib 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-dotnet-contrib versions: < 1.16.0-beta.2. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.18% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Open-telemetryopentelemetry-dotnet-contrib< 1.16.0-beta.2Not stated

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 CNA (github.com).

Official description

`OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host` NuGet package, which provides OpenTelemetry resource detectors for host, is affected by an untrusted search path vulnerability on macOS. Prior to version 1.16.0-beta.2, the `host.id` resource attribute detector launches the `sh` and `ioreg` executables by bare name rather than by absolute path, so both are resolved through the `PATH` environment variable. A local attacker who is less privileged than the host application, and who can influence `PATH` or write to a directory that appears in `PATH` ahead of the system directories, can have an arbitrary binary executed in the application's security context, resulting in local code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability only affect macOS hosts - Linux and Windows hosts are unaffected. Version 1.16.0-beta.2 contains a patch. No known workarounds are available.

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.

More Untrusted Search Path vulnerabilities (CWE-426)

Timeline

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

References

Other vulnerabilities in opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib

All opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib vulnerabilities

Recent Untrusted Search Path vulnerabilities

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