CVE-2026-81872
What it is
OpenTelemetry-Go is the Go implementation of OpenTelemetry. Prior to version 0.21.0, the go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/log BatchingProcessor can enter a tight CPU loop when attacker-driven log emission fills its asynchronous export buffer while the exporter is backpressured. NewBatchingProcessor wraps the exporter with newBufferExporter(exporter, 1), and the poll loop calls queue.TryDequeue and bufferExporter.EnqueueExport before immediately signaling pollTrigger whenever the queue remains at or above batchSize. Because a failed nonblocking EnqueueExport leaves the queue length unchanged, the processor repeatedly retries without waiting for its ticker, exhausting CPU and degrading or denying service in the embedding process. This issue is fixed in version 0.21.0.
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
- 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: 6.3 MEDIUM (CVSS).
- Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.4% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-400 · Uncontrolled resource consumption
- Record status
- Awaiting Analysis
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
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/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-2026-81872.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-81872. 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/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/commit/ba71b09e6ed272e93a669aeaec1e98b1df4cc582
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/pull/8620
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/releases/tag/sdk/log/v0.21.0
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-hjf4-fphr-2h65
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-hjf4-fphr-2h65
References
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/commit/ba71b09e6ed272e93a669aeaec1e98b1df4cc582
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/issues/6797
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/pull/8620
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/releases/tag/sdk/log/v0.21.0
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-hjf4-fphr-2h65
- https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go/security/advisories/GHSA-hjf4-fphr-2h65