CVE-2026-53422

NameCVE-2026-53422
DescriptionObservable Response Discrepancy vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to enumerate the existence of files and directories outside the configured root directory. The SSH_FXP_REALPATH handler in ssh_sftpd calls relate_file_name/3 with Canonicalize=false, unlike every other SFTP operation handler. This allows .. components in the requested path to bypass the is_within_root/2 check without being resolved. The un-canonicalized path then enters resolve_symlinks/2, which walks up the directory tree above the configured root and issues read_link() syscalls on arbitrary filesystem paths. An authenticated SFTP client can exploit this by sending a REALPATH request with a crafted traversal path. The server response differs depending on whether the target path exists on the host filesystem (SSH_FXP_NAME when the path resolves successfully, SSH_FX_NO_SUCH_FILE when it does not). This creates a path-existence oracle that an attacker can use to enumerate the filesystem structure outside the configured root, including the existence of sensitive files, directories, and mount points. The vulnerability leaks only the existence of paths. No file contents, credentials, or write access are obtainable through this issue alone. The information gained may assist further attacks when combined with other vulnerabilities. This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl and program routine ssh_sftpd:handle_op/4. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 29.0.3, 28.5.0.3, and 27.3.4.14 corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 until 6.0.2, 5.5.2.2, and 5.2.11.9.
SourceCVE (at NVD; CERT, ENISA, LWN, oss-sec, fulldisc, Debian ELTS, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Gentoo, SUSE bugzilla/CVE, GitHub advisories/code/issues, web search, more)

Vulnerable and fixed packages

The table below lists information on source packages.

Source PackageReleaseVersionStatus
erlang (PTS)bullseye1:23.2.6+dfsg-1+deb11u1vulnerable
bullseye (security)1:23.2.6+dfsg-1+deb11u4vulnerable
bookworm1:25.2.3+dfsg-1+deb12u4vulnerable
bookworm (security)1:25.2.3+dfsg-1+deb12u1vulnerable
trixie1:27.3.4.1+dfsg-1+deb13u2vulnerable
forky, sid1:29.0.2+dfsg-1vulnerable

The information below is based on the following data on fixed versions.

PackageTypeReleaseFixed VersionUrgencyOriginDebian Bugs
erlangsource(unstable)(unfixed)

Notes

https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-h9pw-h5w4-h976
https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-53422.html
https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-53422
https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/059e5785ef8c1d423820ca633fb7b37f47645172 (OTP-29.0.3)
https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/c5a8f50ae68888ff243c5c741a06d2b3a4b48b7a (OTP-28.5.0.3)
https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/86622cfaacf57a02c7645d1999f946846b504c94 (OTP-27.3.4.14)

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