6.9
MEDIUM CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-55734
guardian atom exhaustion in Guardian.Permissions.encode_permissions!/1
Description

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ueberauth guardian (Guardian.Permissions module) allows a denial of service via BEAM atom-table exhaustion. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/guardian/permissions.ex and program routines 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2. The Guardian.Permissions mixin installs a public encode_permissions!/1 function on every module that does use Guardian.Permissions. For each key of the supplied map, encode_permissions!/1 calls String.to_atom(to_string(k)) before any validation runs. The integer-value clause of do_encode_permissions!/2 then short-circuits straight to encoding without validating the key against the configured permission set, so a key with an integer value is interned as a fresh atom with no exception raised. Atoms are never garbage collected and the BEAM atom table is a fixed-size resource (default roughly 1,048,576 entries), so each unique attacker-chosen key permanently consumes one slot. An attacker who can influence a permission map that reaches encode_permissions!/1 (for example a permissions map read from a request body and passed into token issuance via encode_permissions_into_claims!/2) can mint an unbounded number of atoms and exhaust the atom table, crashing the entire BEAM node and every service running on it. The sibling decode_permissions/1 is not affected because it skips keys absent from the configured permission set. This issue affects guardian: from 2.0.0 before 2.4.1.

INFO

Published Date :

Aug. 1, 2026, 7:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 1, 2026, 7:16 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No

Source :

6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-55734 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 4.0 MEDIUM 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
CVSS 4.0 MEDIUM 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Solution
Update guardian to version 2.4.1 or later to fix atom table exhaustion.
  • Update the guardian library to a patched version.
  • Ensure all permission keys are validated before encoding.
  • Limit or sanitize user-controlled input for permissions.
  • Monitor atom table usage in production.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-55734 is associated with the following CWEs:

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-55734 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-55734 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db

    Aug. 01, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:ueberauth:guardian:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian', 'vendor': 'ueberauth', 'modules': ["'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions'"], 'product': 'guardian', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.0.0', 'lessThan': '2.4.1', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:hex/guardian', 'packageName': 'guardian', 'programFiles': ['lib/guardian/permissions.ex'], 'collectionURL': 'https://repo.hex.pm', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': "'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1"}, {'name': "'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2"}, {'name': "'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2"}]}, {'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:ueberauth:guardian:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian', 'vendor': 'ueberauth', 'modules': ["'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions'"], 'product': 'guardian', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': 'b7a6128ca4d0ffb7f7df5219dd982304ff9d6802', 'lessThan': '8d4efbfc352d30f5fcfc75a4d69a795b0e472724', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:github/ueberauth/guardian', 'packageName': 'ueberauth/guardian', 'programFiles': ['lib/guardian/permissions.ex'], 'collectionURL': 'https://github.com', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': "'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1"}, {'name': "'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2"}, {'name': "'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2"}]}]
    Added Description Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ueberauth guardian (Guardian.Permissions module) allows a denial of service via BEAM atom-table exhaustion. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/guardian/permissions.ex and program routines 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2. The Guardian.Permissions mixin installs a public encode_permissions!/1 function on every module that does use Guardian.Permissions. For each key of the supplied map, encode_permissions!/1 calls String.to_atom(to_string(k)) before any validation runs. The integer-value clause of do_encode_permissions!/2 then short-circuits straight to encoding without validating the key against the configured permission set, so a key with an integer value is interned as a fresh atom with no exception raised. Atoms are never garbage collected and the BEAM atom table is a fixed-size resource (default roughly 1,048,576 entries), so each unique attacker-chosen key permanently consumes one slot. An attacker who can influence a permission map that reaches encode_permissions!/1 (for example a permissions map read from a request body and passed into token issuance via encode_permissions_into_claims!/2) can mint an unbounded number of atoms and exhaust the atom table, crashing the entire BEAM node and every service running on it. The sibling decode_permissions/1 is not affected because it skips keys absent from the configured permission set. This issue affects guardian: from 2.0.0 before 2.4.1.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H/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
    Added CWE CWE-770
    Added Reference https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-55734.html
    Added Reference https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian/commit/8d4efbfc352d30f5fcfc75a4d69a795b0e472724
    Added Reference https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian/security/advisories/GHSA-9qx2-v587-q3gg
    Added Reference https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-55734
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.