CVE-2026-69664
CVE-2026-69664 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.7. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-772.
Key facts
- Severity: High (CVSS 4.0 base score 8.7)
- EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (60th percentile)
- Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
- Weakness: CWE-772
- Published:
- Last modified:
Description
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 a request with a chunked body whose chunk-size line is not a hexadecimal number. The worker serving the connection is never released and no timeout reclaims it, so repeating the request across connections occupies every available worker and denies service to legitimate clients. No authentication is required and the default configuration is affected. The chunk-size line must arrive in a write separate from the headers. When the body accompanies the headers, httpd_request_handler:handle_body/3 calls http_chunk:decode/3 inside a try ... catch throw:Error, so the {error, {chunk_size, _}} thrown by http_chunk:decode_size/4 is answered with 400 Bad Request. When the chunk size arrives later, the decoder is resumed through a bare catch in httpd_request_handler:handle_info/2, which converts the throw into a return value rather than raising it; the resulting error tuple is then treated as the next decoder continuation, the socket is re-armed, and the worker waits for data that never comes. The request timeout has already been cancelled at the point the headers were accepted, and the periodic byte-rate check is only armed when minimum_bytes_per_second is configured, which it is not by default. This issue affects OTP from OTP 18.1.4 before OTP 27.3.4.17, OTP 28.5.0.6, and OTP 29.0.6, corresponding to inets from 6.0.3 before 9.3.2.7, 9.6.2.3, and 9.7.2.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-69664?
- 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 a request with a chunked body whose chunk-size line is not a hexadecimal number. The worker serving the connection is never released and no timeout reclaims it, so repeating the request across connections occupies every available worker and denies service to legitimate clients. No authentication is required and the default configuration is affected. The chunk-size line must arrive in a write separate from the headers. When the body accompanies the headers, httpd_request_handler:handle_body/3 calls http_chunk:decode/3 inside a try ... catch throw:Error, so the {error, {chunk_size, _}} thrown by http_chunk:decode_size/4 is answered with 400 Bad Request. When the chunk size arrives later, the decoder is resumed through a bare catch in httpd_request_handler:handle_info/2, which converts the throw into a return value rather than raising it; the resulting error tuple is then treated as the next decoder continuation, the socket is re-armed, and the worker waits for data that never comes. The request timeout has already been cancelled at the point the headers were accepted, and the periodic byte-rate check is only armed when minimum_bytes_per_second is configured, which it is not by default. This issue affects OTP from OTP 18.1.4 before OTP 27.3.4.17, OTP 28.5.0.6, and OTP 29.0.6, corresponding to inets from 6.0.3 before 9.3.2.7, 9.6.2.3, and 9.7.2.
- How severe is CVE-2026-69664?
- CVE-2026-69664 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.7, rated high severity.
- Is CVE-2026-69664 being actively exploited?
- It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (60th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-69664?
- Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
- When was CVE-2026-69664 published?
- CVE-2026-69664 was published on 2026-09-01 and last updated on 2026-09-22.
References
- https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-69664.html
- https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/77acb473d8f056f6f534395f131c6e45693797f0
- https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/a3adf63078438c86527d704e23282b7721d8ca12
- https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/bd4e74348c6be8a49f060da6fd48d43f3a960292
- https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/df1a9ca4666e2fdfc44886bfaae76de086d803f6
- https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-mr35-8h7w-w3gq
- https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-69664
- https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#order-of-versions
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