Heap pointer corruption via signed/unsigned mismatch in LARGE_TUPLE_EXT decoding in erts external term format decoder
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · Low
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Signed to Unsigned Conversion Error and Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in Erlang OTP erts allows an attacker who can supply a crafted Erlang external term format (ETF) binary to binary_to_term/1 to corrupt the BEAM heap pointer and crash the virtual machine. When decoding a LARGE_TUPLE_EXT term, the validation pass decoded_size() in erts/emulator/beam/external.c reads the 32-bit arity field as unsigned (get_uint32()), while the decode pass dec_term() reads the same field as a signed 32-bit integer (get_int32()) into an int. An arity wire value of 0x80000000 passes validation as 2147483648 but decodes as -2147483648, so the subsequent hp += n moves the heap allocation pointer backward. Neither pass enforces the runtime tuple-arity limit MAX_ARITYVAL. The result is an out-of-bounds heap write; in practice the VM detects an impossible heap size and aborts, denying service. The required padding is large when uncompressed but the compressed-ETF envelope shrinks it to a small payload on the wire. This issue affects OTP from OTP 25.0 before OTP 29.0.4, OTP 28.5.0.4 and OTP 27.3.4.15, corresponding to erts from 13.0 before 17.0.4, 16.4.0.4 and 15.2.7.11.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erlang | OTP | 13.0 and later | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Erlang | OTP | 25.0 and later | — | Patch available | CNA |
- OTP VendorErlang Affected 13.0 and later Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- OTP VendorErlang Affected 25.0 and later Fixed in — Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 2
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Hardened Images
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-55737
References
Patch 3
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- TI-2026-36669 Stack buffer overflow in SCTP error cause parsing in inet_drv allows remote VM crash CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.8
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- TI-2016-08327 An issue was discovered in Erlang/OTP 18.x. CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-55737 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-55737 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2026-55737 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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