CVE-2026-59251 (GCVE-0-2026-59251)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-07-27 15:30 – Updated: 2026-07-28 09:54
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Denial of service via exponential certificate policy tree growth in path validation
Summary
Allocation of resources without limits in Erlang/OTP public_key certificate path validation allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to cause denial of service by sending a crafted X.509 certificate chain during the TLS handshake.
During RFC 5280 policy processing in public_key:pkix_path_validation/3, the certificate policy tree maintained by pubkey_policy_tree grows without an upper bound. When a certificate chain contains M policies per certificate and K certificates, the tree grows on the order of M^K nodes because pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2 and pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2 extend the tree per policy per certificate. A modest chain with many policies per certificate is enough to pin BEAM schedulers and exhaust the node's memory, taking down the entire VM. The attacker only needs to be able to present a certificate chain to the victim, which is the normal precondition for a TLS handshake, so exploitation succeeds against any incoming or outgoing TLS connection that validates the peer's chain (the default for SSL/TLS clients and mutual-TLS servers).
This is the same vulnerability class as OpenSSL's X509_verify_cert policy tree DoS.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/public_key/src/pubkey_policy_tree.erl and program routines pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2 and pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 26.2 before OTP 29.0.4, OTP 28.5.0.4 and OTP 27.3.4.15, corresponding to public_key from 1.15 before 1.21.4, 1.20.3.4 and 1.17.1.5.
Severity
SSVC
Exploitation: none
Automatable: yes
Technical Impact: partial
CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)
CWE
- CWE-770 - Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Assigner
References
6 references
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories… | vendor-advisoryrelated |
| https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-59251.html | related |
| https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-59251 | related |
| https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#o… | x_version-scheme |
| https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/f8580fc11709… | patch |
| https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/f04c6bba38de… | patch |
Impacted products
Credits
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"containers": "{\"adp\": [{\"title\": \"CISA ADP Vulnrichment\", \"metrics\": [{\"other\": {\"type\": \"ssvc\", \"content\": {\"id\": \"CVE-2026-59251\", \"role\": \"CISA Coordinator\", \"options\": [{\"Exploitation\": \"none\"}, {\"Automatable\": \"yes\"}, {\"Technical Impact\": \"partial\"}], \"version\": \"2.0.3\", \"timestamp\": \"2026-07-27T18:31:50.981990Z\"}}}], \"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\", \"shortName\": \"CISA-ADP\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-07-27T18:32:04.356Z\"}}], \"cna\": {\"title\": \"Denial of service via exponential certificate policy tree growth in path validation\", \"source\": {\"discovery\": \"INTERNAL\"}, \"credits\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"type\": \"finder\", \"value\": \"Lukas Backstr\\u00f6m\"}, {\"lang\": \"en\", \"type\": \"remediation developer\", \"value\": \"Jakub Witczak\"}, {\"lang\": \"en\", \"type\": \"remediation reviewer\", \"value\": \"Micha\\u0142 W\\u0105sowski\"}], \"impacts\": [{\"capecId\": \"CAPEC-130\", \"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"value\": \"CAPEC-130 Excessive Allocation\"}]}], \"metrics\": [{\"format\": \"CVSS\", \"cvssV4_0\": {\"version\": \"4.0\", \"baseScore\": 8.7, \"attackVector\": \"NETWORK\", \"baseSeverity\": \"HIGH\", \"vectorString\": \"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:L\", \"userInteraction\": \"NONE\", \"attackComplexity\": \"LOW\", \"attackRequirements\": \"NONE\", \"privilegesRequired\": \"NONE\", \"subIntegrityImpact\": \"NONE\", \"vulnIntegrityImpact\": \"NONE\", \"subAvailabilityImpact\": \"LOW\", \"vulnAvailabilityImpact\": \"HIGH\", \"subConfidentialityImpact\": \"NONE\", \"vulnConfidentialityImpact\": \"NONE\"}, \"scenarios\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"value\": \"GENERAL\"}]}], \"affected\": [{\"cpes\": [\"cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*\"], \"repo\": \"https://github.com/erlang/otp\", \"vendor\": \"Erlang\", \"modules\": [\"pubkey_policy_tree\"], \"product\": \"OTP\", \"versions\": [{\"status\": \"affected\", \"changes\": [{\"at\": \"1.21.4\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}, {\"at\": \"1.20.3.4\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}, {\"at\": \"1.17.1.5\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}], \"version\": \"1.15\", \"lessThan\": \"*\", \"versionType\": \"otp\"}], \"packageURL\": \"pkg:otp/public_key?repository_url=https:%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Ferlang%2Fotp\u0026vcs_url=git%20https:%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Ferlang%2Fotp.git\", \"packageName\": \"public_key\", \"programFiles\": [\"src/pubkey_policy_tree.erl\"], \"defaultStatus\": \"unaffected\", \"programRoutines\": [{\"name\": \"pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2\"}, {\"name\": \"pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2\"}]}, {\"cpes\": [\"cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*\"], \"repo\": \"https://github.com/erlang/otp\", \"vendor\": \"Erlang\", \"modules\": [\"pubkey_policy_tree\"], \"product\": \"OTP\", \"versions\": [{\"status\": \"affected\", \"changes\": [{\"at\": \"29.0.4\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}, {\"at\": \"28.5.0.4\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}, {\"at\": \"27.3.4.15\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}], \"version\": \"26.2\", \"lessThan\": \"*\", \"versionType\": \"otp\"}, {\"status\": \"affected\", \"changes\": [{\"at\": \"f8580fc117098c08165f46c26fd0750c5cfb2a90\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}, {\"at\": \"f04c6bba38de1cf1b1836a7d9a9fbe239bd939e8\", \"status\": \"unaffected\"}], \"version\": \"9d1dda7bad5a64b58c10a1554751689e94131a73\", \"lessThan\": \"*\", \"versionType\": \"git\"}], \"packageURL\": \"pkg:github/erlang/otp\", \"packageName\": \"erlang/otp\", \"programFiles\": [\"lib/public_key/src/pubkey_policy_tree.erl\"], \"collectionURL\": \"https://github.com\", \"defaultStatus\": \"unaffected\", \"programRoutines\": [{\"name\": \"pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2\"}, {\"name\": \"pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2\"}]}], \"references\": [{\"url\": \"https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-622p-qfh6-c352\", \"tags\": [\"vendor-advisory\", \"related\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-59251.html\", \"tags\": [\"related\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-59251\", \"tags\": [\"related\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#order-of-versions\", \"tags\": [\"x_version-scheme\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/f8580fc117098c08165f46c26fd0750c5cfb2a90\", \"tags\": [\"patch\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/f04c6bba38de1cf1b1836a7d9a9fbe239bd939e8\", \"tags\": [\"patch\"]}], \"x_generator\": {\"engine\": \"cvelib 1.8.0\"}, \"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"value\": \"Allocation of resources without limits in Erlang/OTP public_key certificate path validation allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to cause denial of service by sending a crafted X.509 certificate chain during the TLS handshake.\\n\\nDuring RFC 5280 policy processing in public_key:pkix_path_validation/3, the certificate policy tree maintained by pubkey_policy_tree grows without an upper bound. When a certificate chain contains M policies per certificate and K certificates, the tree grows on the order of M^K nodes because pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2 and pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2 extend the tree per policy per certificate. A modest chain with many policies per certificate is enough to pin BEAM schedulers and exhaust the node\u0027s memory, taking down the entire VM. The attacker only needs to be able to present a certificate chain to the victim, which is the normal precondition for a TLS handshake, so exploitation succeeds against any incoming or outgoing TLS connection that validates the peer\u0027s chain (the default for SSL/TLS clients and mutual-TLS servers).\\n\\nThis is the same vulnerability class as OpenSSL\u0027s X509_verify_cert policy tree DoS.\\n\\nThis vulnerability is associated with program files lib/public_key/src/pubkey_policy_tree.erl and program routines pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2 and pubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2.\\n\\nThis issue affects OTP from OTP 26.2 before OTP\\u00a029.0.4, OTP\\u00a028.5.0.4 and OTP\\u00a027.3.4.15, corresponding to public_key from 1.15 before 1.21.4, 1.20.3.4 and 1.17.1.5.\", \"supportingMedia\": [{\"type\": \"text/html\", \"value\": \"\u003cp\u003eAllocation of resources without limits in Erlang/OTP public_key certificate path validation allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to cause denial of service by sending a crafted X.509 certificate chain during the TLS handshake.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring RFC 5280 policy processing in \u003ctt\u003epublic_key:pkix_path_validation/3\u003c/tt\u003e, the certificate policy tree maintained by \u003ctt\u003epubkey_policy_tree\u003c/tt\u003e grows without an upper bound. When a certificate chain contains M policies per certificate and K certificates, the tree grows on the order of M^K nodes because \u003ctt\u003epubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2\u003c/tt\u003e and \u003ctt\u003epubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2\u003c/tt\u003e extend the tree per policy per certificate. A modest chain with many policies per certificate is enough to pin BEAM schedulers and exhaust the node\u0027s memory, taking down the entire VM. The attacker only needs to be able to present a certificate chain to the victim, which is the normal precondition for a TLS handshake, so exploitation succeeds against any incoming or outgoing TLS connection that validates the peer\u0027s chain (the default for SSL/TLS clients and mutual-TLS servers).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the same vulnerability class as OpenSSL\u0027s \u003ctt\u003eX509_verify_cert\u003c/tt\u003e policy tree DoS.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis vulnerability is associated with program files \u003ctt\u003elib/public_key/src/pubkey_policy_tree.erl\u003c/tt\u003e and program routines \u003ctt\u003epubkey_policy_tree:add_leaves/2\u003c/tt\u003e and \u003ctt\u003epubkey_policy_tree:add_leaf_siblings/2\u003c/tt\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis issue affects OTP from OTP 26.2 before OTP\u0026nbsp;29.0.4, OTP\u0026nbsp;28.5.0.4 and OTP\u0026nbsp;27.3.4.15, corresponding to public_key from 1.15 before 1.21.4, 1.20.3.4 and 1.17.1.5.\u003c/p\u003e\", \"base64\": false}]}], \"problemTypes\": [{\"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"type\": \"CWE\", \"cweId\": \"CWE-770\", \"description\": \"CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling\"}]}], \"cpeApplicability\": [{\"nodes\": [{\"negate\": false, \"cpeMatch\": [{\"criteria\": \"cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*\", \"vulnerable\": true, \"versionEndExcluding\": \"27.3.4.15\", \"versionStartIncluding\": \"26.2\"}, {\"criteria\": \"cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*\", \"vulnerable\": true, \"versionEndExcluding\": \"28.5.0.4\", \"versionStartIncluding\": \"28.0\"}, {\"criteria\": \"cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*\", \"vulnerable\": true, \"versionEndExcluding\": \"29.0.4\", \"versionStartIncluding\": \"29.0\"}], \"operator\": \"OR\"}], \"operator\": \"AND\"}], \"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db\", \"shortName\": \"EEF\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-07-28T09:54:59.169Z\"}}}",
"cveMetadata": "{\"cveId\": \"CVE-2026-59251\", \"state\": \"PUBLISHED\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-07-28T09:54:59.169Z\", \"dateReserved\": \"2026-07-04T04:24:03.653Z\", \"assignerOrgId\": \"6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db\", \"datePublished\": \"2026-07-27T15:30:47.097Z\", \"assignerShortName\": \"EEF\"}",
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
}
}
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Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
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