Erlang OTP prior 27.3.4.17/28.5.0.6/29.0.6 httpd httpd_request_handler:handle_info denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Erlang OTP. Affected by this vulnerability is the function httpd_request_handler:handle_info of the component httpd. Performing a manipulation results in denial of service. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-71380. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Erlang OTP. This affects the function httpd_request_handler:handle_info of the component httpd. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in Erlang/OTP inets httpd allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause denial of service by sending valid request headers with a large Content-Length and then stalling before the body is complete. httpd_request_handler:handle_info/2 cancels the request timeout as soon as a parse step succeeds, which includes the headers, and the clause that handles a decoder asking for more data re-arms the socket with {active, once} without setting any further timer. httpd_request:whole_body/2 returns such a continuation whenever the bytes received are fewer than the announced Content-Length, so a well-formed request that stops mid-body leaves the worker waiting indefinitely. The periodic byte-rate check that would reclaim it is armed only when minimum_bytes_per_second is configured, which it is not by default. Repeating this across connections occupies every worker permitted by max_clients and denies service to legitimate clients at negligible bandwidth cost. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 27.3.4.17, from OTP 28.0 before OTP 28.5.0.6, and from OTP 29.0 before OTP 29.0.6, corresponding to inets from 5.10 before 9.3.2.7, from 9.4 before 9.6.2.3, and from 9.7 before 9.7.2. Whether OTP before OTP 17.0, corresponding to inets before 5.10, is affected is unknown.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-71380 since 08/17/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 27.3.4.17, 28.5.0.6 or 29.0.6 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• Erlang

Name

• OTP

Website

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

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