CVE-2026-55737

What it is

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.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine without logging in. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

0.3% 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

Details

Published

2026-07-27 16:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-24 13:10 UTC

Exploit probability

0.3% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-195

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Erlang erlang\/otp < 27.3.4.15
• 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 · 5.1

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Attack requirements

None

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

Low