Erlang OTP up to 16.x/17.0.1/29.0.1 SCTP inet_drv.c sctp_parse_error_chunk spec[] stack-based overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Erlang OTP up to 16.x/17.0.1/29.0.1. The impacted element is the function sctp_parse_error_chunk of the file erts/emulator/drivers/common/inet_drv.c of the component SCTP Handler. This manipulation of the argument spec[] causes stack-based overflow. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-49759. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Erlang OTP up to 16.x/17.0.1/29.0.1 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function sctp_parse_error_chunk of the file erts/emulator/drivers/common/inet_drv.c of the component SCTP Handler. The manipulation of the argument spec[] with an unknown input leads to a stack-based overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-121. A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function). As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

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 fixed tag, so the overflow does not provide a controlled return address, limiting exploitation to Denial of Service. A crafted SCTP ERROR chunk may also leak bits and pieces of Erlang VM memory into the received error packet observed by the Erlang process. Such data is already readable by the user running the Erlang VM, so the disclosure scope is limited. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before 27.3.4.13, 28.5.0.2 and 29.0.2, corresponding to erts from 6.0 before 15.2.7.9, 16.4.0.2 and 17.0.2.

The weakness was released by Zhang Delong as GHSA-6f4f-chj5-5g97. The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-49759 since 06/01/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 15.2.7.9, 16.4.0.2, 17.0, 17.0.2, 27.3.4.13, 28.5.0.2 or 29.0.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3983d495284331c121f600a80bac9fcf4e16381e is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• Erlang

Name

• OTP

Version

• 16.x
• 17.0.0
• 17.0.1
• 29.0.0
• 29.0.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/erlang/otp/

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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