CVE-2026-42792

What it is

Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in Erlang OTP erts (epmd) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to permanently terminate the Erlang Port Mapper Daemon (epmd) via connection slot exhaustion. The do_accept function in erts/epmd/src/epmd_srv.c calls epmd_cleanup_exit() when accept(2) returns EMFILE (per-process file descriptor limit reached) or ENFILE (system-wide file descriptor limit reached), rather than treating these as recoverable conditions. An attacker can exhaust epmd's file descriptor slots by holding many TCP connections open while periodically sending a single byte to reset the idle timeout, then causing accept(2) to return EMFILE, which kills the daemon. epmd has no per-source-IP connection cap, making the attack feasible from a single source. On Debian/Ubuntu default packaging the impact is amplified: the systemd unit inherits a low file descriptor soft limit, and repeated daemon deaths trigger systemd's start-rate-limit, permanently failing both epmd.service and epmd.socket and requiring manual operator intervention to recover. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 29.0.4, OTP 28.5.0.4 and OTP 27.3.4.15.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

0.4% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-07-27 16:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-24 13:10 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.4% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 6.3 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-07-27 16:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-24 13:10 UTC

Exploit probability

0.4% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-755

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Erlang erlang\/otp < 27.3.4
• Erlang erlang\/otp < 28.5.0.4
• Erlang erlang\/otp < 29.0.4
• Erlang Erts < 15.2.7.11
• Erlang Erts < 16.4.0.4
• Erlang Erts < 17.0.4

Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 6.3

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Attack requirements

Present

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

Low

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-42792.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-42792. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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