CVE-2026-73500
What it is
etcd is a distributed key-value store for the data of a distributed system. Prior to versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1, a network attacker who can reach an etcd TLS listener can open many TCP connections and never send a ClientHello. In client/pkg/transport/listener_tls.go, each connection handled by tlsListener.acceptLoop spawns a goroutine that blocks indefinitely inside tls.Conn.Handshake() and remains tracked in the pending map. Unbounded goroutine and map growth can exhaust memory in the etcd process, causing loss of availability for the cluster and, when etcd backs Kubernetes, the control plane. This issue is fixed in versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1.
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of service disruption.
- 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
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- 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: 8.7 HIGH (CVSS).
- Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.4% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-770 · Allocation without limits
- Record status
- Awaiting Analysis
Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 8.7
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/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
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-2026-73500.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-73500. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
Fix and advisories
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/2e07efce9745004eb4773cffaada9b5cdf77cff2
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/89ff6d50796049d4f1136915ba21504b76e7e372
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/8e4dd0679a2c6b095d2a32a749fda2521c7809a3
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/f73cba7d920019f91a1ea1f6697833e42731f057
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/pull/22130
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.5.33
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.6.14
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.7.1
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-6vch-q96h-7gc3
References
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/2e07efce9745004eb4773cffaada9b5cdf77cff2
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/89ff6d50796049d4f1136915ba21504b76e7e372
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/8e4dd0679a2c6b095d2a32a749fda2521c7809a3
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/commit/f73cba7d920019f91a1ea1f6697833e42731f057
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/pull/22130
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.5.33
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.6.14
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/releases/tag/v3.7.1
- https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-6vch-q96h-7gc3