Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-48860

Access Control in Erlang\/Otp 26.0 – 27.3.4.13

Published
10 June 2026
Modified
24 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v4 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0019 9th percentile
Risk Priority 27 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-48860 is a high-severity Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Erlang Erlang\/Otp. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-24 (Access Control Decisions) and AC-25 (Reference Monitor) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Reliance on IP Address for Authentication vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (inet_tls_dist module) allows unauthenticated bypass of the distribution-over-TLS LAN allowlist. The inet_tls_dist:check_ip/1 function, which enforces a LAN allowlist for Erlang distribution over TLS, calls inet:sockname/1 instead of inet:peername/1 to obtain…

more

the peer's IP address. Because inet:sockname/1 returns the local socket address, both the local IP and the supposed peer IP resolve to the same value, causing the subnet mask comparison to always succeed regardless of the actual remote address. Any holder of a CA-signed TLS certificate can therefore bypass the LAN restriction and gain full Erlang distribution access to the node, including rpc:call/4 and code:load_binary/3. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssl/src/inet_tls_dist.erl. This issue affects OTP from OTP 26.0 before OTP 29.0.2, OTP 28.5.0.2 and OTP 27.3.4.13, corresponding to ssl from 11.0 before 11.7.2, 11.6.0.2 and 11.2.12.9.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may bypass UAC mechanisms to elevate process privileges on system.
T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-55952Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-55950Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-55953Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-54887Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-54891Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-28808Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-58227Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-32144Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-42791Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp
CVE-2026-28810Same product: Erlang Erlang\/Otp

Affected Assets

erlang
erlang\/otp
26.0 — 27.3.4.13 · 28.0 — 28.5.0.2 · 29.0 — 29.0.2
erlang
erlang\/ssl
11.0 — 11.2.12.9 · 11.6 — 11.6.0.2 · 11.7 — 11.7.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 directly requires correct enforcement of authorization decisions on every access request, structurally preventing incorrect checks.

AC-24 ensures access-control decisions are made and applied consistently, reducing the chance of an incorrect authorization result.

A reference monitor that is always invoked and tamper-proof forces every authorization decision through a verified, correct path.

Developer testing and evaluation can discover incorrect comparison logic after implementation but does not stop the flaw from being written.

Least-privilege assignments shrink the set of authorizations that must be checked correctly, limiting exposure to flawed checks.

Requiring a documented development process and tools can embed standards that reduce introduction of erroneous comparison factors.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining, enforcing, and reviewing access authorizations and least privilege directly prevents incorrect authorization checks.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC activities such as code review and logic testing directly prevent incorrect comparison factors in code.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing can detect incorrect comparison results during development and acceptance.

prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes requirements and reviews that can catch incorrect comparison logic.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify correct comparison criteria and validation rules.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly address proper comparison logic and factor selection.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
  • V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863

References