CVE-2026-55950
DTLS listener crash via race condition in dtls_packet_demux causes denial of service for all sessions
Description
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (dtls_packet_demux module) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash all active DTLS sessions on a listener. A DTLS server listener uses a single shared dtls_packet_demux gen_server process to route incoming UDP datagrams to the correct connection handler. When a DTLS client reconnects rapidly from the same source address and port (sending multiple ClientHello messages in quick succession), a race condition in the demux's internal gb_trees key-value store causes a {key_exists, {old, Client}} crash, terminating the demux process. Because the demux is shared across all DTLS associations on that listener, its crash immediately kills every active DTLS session, not just the attacker's. The attack is pre-authentication: the attacker only needs to send UDP datagrams containing valid ClientHello messages from the same source IP and port before the intermediate DOWN monitor message is processed by the gen_server. No credentials, no completed handshake, and no special configuration are required, and the crash can be repeated indefinitely to create a persistent denial of service for all clients of that listener. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssl/src/dtls_packet_demux.erl. This issue affects OTP from OTP 25.3 before OTP 29.0.3, OTP 28.5.0.3 and OTP 27.3.4.14, corresponding to ssl from 10.9 before 11.7.3, 11.6.0.3 and 11.2.12.10.
INFO
Published Date :
July 2, 2026, 5:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 24, 2026, 3:18 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-55950
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.
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db |
Solution
- Update Erlang/OTP to a version that includes the fix.
- Update ssl component to a fixed version.
- Deploy the updated software.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-55950.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-55950.html | Vendor Advisory |
| https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/e44d2bf01c4473ef2ea7f09e3523cf96de6e4a04 | Patch |
| https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-hwfc-5hf4-gvr3 | Vendor Advisory |
| https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-55950 | Third Party Advisory |
| https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#order-of-versions | Release Notes |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-55950 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-55950
weaknesses.
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-2026-55950 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-55950 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.
-
CVE Modified by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Jul. 24, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Description Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (dtls_packet_demux module) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash all active DTLS sessions on a listener. A DTLS server listener uses a single shared dtls_packet_demux gen_server process to route incoming UDP datagrams to the correct connection handler. When a DTLS client reconnects rapidly from the same source address and port (sending multiple ClientHello messages in quick succession), a race condition in the demux's internal gb_trees key-value store causes a {key_exists, {old, Client}} crash, terminating the demux process. Because the demux is shared across all DTLS associations on that listener, its crash immediately kills every active DTLS session, not just the attacker's. The attack is pre-authentication: the attacker only needs to send UDP datagrams containing valid ClientHello messages from the same source IP and port before the intermediate DOWN monitor message is processed by the gen_server. No credentials, no completed handshake, and no special configuration are required, and the crash can be repeated indefinitely to create a persistent denial of service for all clients of that listener. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssl/src/dtls_packet_demux.erl. This issue affects OTP from OTP 25.3 before 29.0.3, 28.5.0.3, and 27.3.4.14 corresponding to ssl from 10.9 before 11.7.3, 11.6.0.3, and 11.2.12.10. Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (dtls_packet_demux module) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash all active DTLS sessions on a listener. A DTLS server listener uses a single shared dtls_packet_demux gen_server process to route incoming UDP datagrams to the correct connection handler. When a DTLS client reconnects rapidly from the same source address and port (sending multiple ClientHello messages in quick succession), a race condition in the demux's internal gb_trees key-value store causes a {key_exists, {old, Client}} crash, terminating the demux process. Because the demux is shared across all DTLS associations on that listener, its crash immediately kills every active DTLS session, not just the attacker's. The attack is pre-authentication: the attacker only needs to send UDP datagrams containing valid ClientHello messages from the same source IP and port before the intermediate DOWN monitor message is processed by the gen_server. No credentials, no completed handshake, and no special configuration are required, and the crash can be repeated indefinitely to create a persistent denial of service for all clients of that listener. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssl/src/dtls_packet_demux.erl. This issue affects OTP from OTP 25.3 before OTP 29.0.3, OTP 28.5.0.3 and OTP 27.3.4.14, corresponding to ssl from 10.9 before 11.7.3, 11.6.0.3 and 11.2.12.10. -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jul. 07, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 28.0 up to (excluding) 28.5.0.3 *cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 29.0 up to (excluding) 29.0.3 *cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang/ssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 11.3 up to (excluding) 11.6.0.3 *cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang/ssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 11.7 up to (excluding) 11.7.3 *cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 25.3 up to (excluding) 27.3.4.14 *cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang/ssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 10.9 up to (excluding) 11.2.12.10 Added Reference Type EEF: https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-55950.html Types: Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type EEF: https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/e44d2bf01c4473ef2ea7f09e3523cf96de6e4a04 Types: Patch Added Reference Type EEF: https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-hwfc-5hf4-gvr3 Types: Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type EEF: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-55950 Types: Third Party Advisory Added Reference Type EEF: https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#order-of-versions Types: Release Notes -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jul. 02, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-55950', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-07-02T17:25:47.169172Z'} -
New CVE Received by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
Jul. 02, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/erlang/otp', 'vendor': 'Erlang', 'modules': ['dtls_packet_demux'], 'product': 'OTP', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'changes': [{'at': '11.7.3', 'status': 'unaffected'}, {'at': '11.6.0.3', 'status': 'unaffected'}, {'at': '11.2.12.10', 'status': 'unaffected'}], 'version': '10.9', 'lessThan': '*', 'versionType': 'otp'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:otp/ssl?repository_url=https:%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Ferlang%2Fotp&vcs_url=git%20https:%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Ferlang%2Fotp.git', 'packageName': 'ssl', 'programFiles': ['src/dtls_packet_demux.erl'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'dtls_packet_demux:handle_call/3'}, {'name': 'dtls_packet_demux:handle_info/2'}, {'name': 'dtls_packet_demux:new_connection/2'}]}, {'cpes': ['cpe:2.3:a:erlang:erlang\\/otp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*'], 'repo': 'https://github.com/erlang/otp', 'vendor': 'Erlang', 'modules': ['dtls_packet_demux'], 'product': 'OTP', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'changes': [{'at': '29.0.3', 'status': 'unaffected'}, {'at': '28.5.0.3', 'status': 'unaffected'}, {'at': '27.3.4.14', 'status': 'unaffected'}], 'version': '25.3', 'lessThan': '*', 'versionType': 'otp'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '44dcb4c3d900777493ce2a6129f451aa475811f9', 'lessThan': 'e44d2bf01c4473ef2ea7f09e3523cf96de6e4a04', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'packageURL': 'pkg:github/erlang/otp', 'packageName': 'erlang/otp', 'programFiles': ['lib/ssl/src/dtls_packet_demux.erl'], 'collectionURL': 'https://github.com', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected', 'programRoutines': [{'name': 'dtls_packet_demux:handle_call/3'}, {'name': 'dtls_packet_demux:handle_info/2'}, {'name': 'dtls_packet_demux:new_connection/2'}]}] Added Description Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (dtls_packet_demux module) allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash all active DTLS sessions on a listener. A DTLS server listener uses a single shared dtls_packet_demux gen_server process to route incoming UDP datagrams to the correct connection handler. When a DTLS client reconnects rapidly from the same source address and port (sending multiple ClientHello messages in quick succession), a race condition in the demux's internal gb_trees key-value store causes a {key_exists, {old, Client}} crash, terminating the demux process. Because the demux is shared across all DTLS associations on that listener, its crash immediately kills every active DTLS session, not just the attacker's. The attack is pre-authentication: the attacker only needs to send UDP datagrams containing valid ClientHello messages from the same source IP and port before the intermediate DOWN monitor message is processed by the gen_server. No credentials, no completed handshake, and no special configuration are required, and the crash can be repeated indefinitely to create a persistent denial of service for all clients of that listener. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssl/src/dtls_packet_demux.erl. This issue affects OTP from OTP 25.3 before 29.0.3, 28.5.0.3, and 27.3.4.14 corresponding to ssl from 10.9 before 11.7.3, 11.6.0.3, and 11.2.12.10. Added CVSS V4.0 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 Added CWE CWE-367 Added Reference https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-55950.html Added Reference https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/e44d2bf01c4473ef2ea7f09e3523cf96de6e4a04 Added Reference https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-hwfc-5hf4-gvr3 Added Reference https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-55950 Added Reference https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#order-of-versions