Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to modify file attributes outside the configured chroot directory. The SFTP daemon (ssh_sftpd) stores the raw, user-supplied path in file handles instead of the chroot-resolved path. When SSH_FXP_FSETSTAT is issued on such a handle, file attributes (permissions, ownership, timestamps) are modified on the real filesystem path, bypassing the root directory boundary entirely. Any authenticated SFTP user on a server configured with the root option can modify file attributes of files outside the intended chroot boundary. The prerequisite is that a target file must exist on the real filesystem at the same relative path. Note that this vulnerability only allows modification of file attributes; file contents cannot be read or altered through this attack vector. If the SSH daemon runs as root, this enables direct privilege escalation: an attacker can set the setuid bit on any binary, change ownership of sensitive files, or make system configuration world-writable. This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl and program routines ssh_sftpd:do_open/4 and ssh_sftpd:handle_op/4. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 28.4.3, OTP 27.3.4.11 and OTP 26.2.5.20, corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 before 5.5.3, 5.2.11.7 and 5.1.4.15.

The remote Ubuntu 14.04 LTS / 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS / 20.04 LTS / 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS / 26.04 LTS host has packages installed that are affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the USN-8901-1 advisory.

    Wander Nauta discovered that Erlang incorrectly handled absolute paths when extracting zip archives. An     attacker could possibly use this issue to write arbitrary files outside of the intended directory. This     issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. (CVE-2025-4748)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SFTP server did not properly limit the size of packets. A remote     attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to use excessive resources, leading to a denial of     service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.
    (CVE-2025-26618)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SSH server did not properly limit the length of algorithm names in key     exchange messages. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to use excessive     resources, leading to a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS,     and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. (CVE-2025-30211)

    It was discovered that the Erlang TFTP server incorrectly handled certain file paths. A remote attacker     could possibly use this issue to access files outside of the intended directory. (CVE-2026-21620)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SFTP server incorrectly validated paths against the configured root     directory. An authenticated user could possibly use this issue to access files outside of the root     directory. (CVE-2026-23942)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SSH server enabled zlib compression by default and did not limit the     size of decompressed data. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to use     excessive resources, leading to a denial of service. (CVE-2026-23943)

    It was discovered that the Erlang HTTP server incorrectly applied directory access controls to CGI scripts     served via script aliases. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to bypass authentication and     access protected CGI scripts. (CVE-2026-28808)

    It was discovered that the Erlang DNS resolver used predictable transaction IDs and did not randomize     source ports. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to perform DNS cache poisoning attacks. This     issue only affected Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-28810)

    It was discovered that Erlang did not verify the signatures of designated OCSP responder certificates. A     remote attacker could possibly use this issue to forge OCSP responses and bypass certificate revocation     checks. This issue only affected Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-32144)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SFTP server incorrectly handled file attribute changes on open file     handles. An authenticated user could possibly use this issue to modify the attributes of files outside of     the root directory. (CVE-2026-32147)

    It was discovered that Erlang incorrectly allowed non-CA certificates to act as intermediate certificate     issuers. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to forge certificate chains. (CVE-2026-42789)

    It was discovered that Erlang incorrectly handled DNS name constraints during hostname verification. A     remote attacker could possibly use this issue to bypass certificate validation. This issue only affected     Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
    (CVE-2026-42790)

    It was discovered that Erlang did not check the validity period of OCSP responder certificates. A remote     attacker could possibly use this issue to forge OCSP responses using an expired responder certificate.
    This issue only affected Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-42791)

    It was discovered that Erlang incorrectly handled relative paths when extracting zip archives. An attacker     could possibly use this issue to write arbitrary files outside of the intended directory. This issue only     affected Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
    (CVE-2026-47078)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SFTP server exposed absolute paths when reading symbolic links. An     authenticated user could possibly use this issue to obtain sensitive information. (CVE-2026-48855)

    It was discovered that the Erlang HTTP client forwarded authorization headers on cross-origin redirects. A     malicious HTTP server could possibly use this issue to obtain sensitive information. (CVE-2026-48856)

    It was discovered that the Erlang FTP client did not validate the IP address in passive mode responses. A     malicious FTP server could possibly use this issue to perform server-side request forgery attacks.
    (CVE-2026-48858)

    It was discovered that Erlang checked the local address instead of the peer address when enforcing the     allowlist for distribution over TLS. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to bypass access     restrictions. This issue only affected Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-48860)

    It was discovered that Erlang incorrectly handled certain SCTP ERROR chunks, leading to a buffer overflow.
    A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to crash, resulting in a denial of     service. (CVE-2026-49759)

    It was discovered that the Erlang erl_interface library incorrectly handled printing very large integers,     leading to a buffer overflow. An attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to crash or     execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2026-49760)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SFTP server incorrectly handled certain path resolution requests. An     authenticated user could possibly use this issue to determine the existence of files outside of the root     directory. (CVE-2026-53422)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SFTP server incorrectly handled extended channel data, leading to an     infinite loop. An authenticated user could possibly use this issue to cause a denial of service.
    (CVE-2026-54886)

    It was discovered that the Erlang DTLS server used a predictable cookie secret on startup. A remote     attacker could possibly use this issue to bypass source address verification. This issue only affected     Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
    (CVE-2026-54887)

    It was discovered that Erlang TLS clients incorrectly accepted application data before the handshake was     completed. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to inject arbitrary data into TLS connections.
    (CVE-2026-54891)

    It was discovered that the Erlang DTLS server contained a race condition when handling rapid client     reconnections. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to crash, resulting in a     denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-55950)

    It was discovered that Erlang did not properly validate TLS 1.3 pre-shared key extensions. A remote     attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to crash, resulting in a denial of service. This     issue only affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
    (CVE-2026-55952)

    It was discovered that the Erlang ASN.1 decoder incorrectly handled certain object identifiers. A remote     attacker could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to use excessive resources, leading to a denial of     service. (CVE-2026-65634)

    It was discovered that the Erlang SSH server did not properly limit the number of open channels. An     authenticated user could possibly use this issue to cause Erlang to use excessive resources, leading to a     denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu     22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-68956)

    It was discovered that the Erlang HTTP server incorrectly shared users and groups between directories when     using dets or mnesia authentication backends. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to bypass     authentication and access protected directories. (CVE-2026-74994)

    It was discovered that Erlang TLS clients incorrectly accepted unsolicited TLS 1.3 pre-shared keys from     servers. A remote attacker could possibly use this issue to impersonate servers. This issue only affected     Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. (CVE-2026-89422)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The remote Debian 13 host has packages installed that are affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the dsa-6464 advisory.

    - -------------------------------------------------------------------------     Debian Security Advisory DSA-6464-1                   security@debian.org     https://www.debian.org/security/                                  Aron Xu     August 25, 2026                       https://www.debian.org/security/faq
    - -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Package        : erlang     CVE ID         : CVE-2026-28808 CVE-2026-28810 CVE-2026-32144 CVE-2026-32147                      CVE-2026-42789 CVE-2026-42790 CVE-2026-42791 CVE-2026-42792                      CVE-2026-47078 CVE-2026-48855 CVE-2026-48856 CVE-2026-48858                      CVE-2026-48860 CVE-2026-49759 CVE-2026-49760 CVE-2026-53422                      CVE-2026-54886 CVE-2026-54887 CVE-2026-54890 CVE-2026-54891                      CVE-2026-55737 CVE-2026-55950 CVE-2026-55952 CVE-2026-55953                      CVE-2026-58227 CVE-2026-59250 CVE-2026-59251     Debian Bug     : 1139727 1139823 1141414 1142985

    Multiple vulnerabilities were discovered in Erlang/OTP, a concurrent,     real-time, distributed functional language, which may result in denial of     service, information disclosure, authentication and certificate validation     bypass, or the execution of arbitrary code. These vulnerbilities affect a     wide range of components: TLS and certificate validation (ssl, public_key),     SSH (ssh), network clients and servers (inets, ftp, epmd, kernel),     runtime and libraries (erts, erl_interface, stdlib, megaco).

    Several of these fixes tighten checks that were previously too permissive,     and can cause configurations that worked before to stop working. The most     likely to be noticed are:

     - TLS clients using verify_peer, which is the default, now reject        certificates that carry no subjectAltName extension; the        customize_hostname_check option does not restore the old behaviour.

     - Erlang distribution over TLS with the kernel 'check_ip' option now        enforces the check that was previously a no-op, so clusters whose nodes        are not on the same subnet lose distribution connectivity until the        option is unset.

     - TLS clients that request OCSP stapling now fail the handshake when the        server provides no stapled response.

     - Clients using TLS 1.2 or earlier now abort the handshake if the server        sends an ALPN extension that the client did not advertise.

     - DNS queries made through inet_res now use randomised source ports

    For the stable distribution (trixie), these problems have been fixed in     version 1:27.3.4.1+dfsg-1+deb13u3.

    We recommend that you upgrade your erlang packages.

    For the detailed security status of erlang please refer to     its security tracker page at:
    https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/erlang

    Further information about Debian Security Advisories, how to apply     these updates to your system and frequently asked questions can be     found at: https://www.debian.org/security/

    Mailing list: debian-security-announce@lists.debian.org

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Debian security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

An update of the erlang package has been released.

The remote openSUSE 16 host has packages installed that are affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the openSUSE-SU-2026:20907-1 advisory.

    This update for erlang fixes the following issues

    - CVE-2025-4748: improper limitation of a pathname may lead to path traversal (bsc#1244642).
    - CVE-2026-32147: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in SFTP     chroot       (bsc#1262503).
    - CVE-2026-42789: `public_key` application accepts non-CA certificates as intermediate issuers and this     enables chain       forgery (bsc#1266449).
    - CVE-2026-42790: Name Constraints and Subject CommonName fallback in TLS hostname verification allows for     certificate       forgery by MITM attacker (bsc#1266466).
    - CVE-2026-42791: OCSP response verification in the `public_key` application does not check the validity     period of the       OCSP responder certificate and allows for OCSP response response forgery (bsc#1266448).

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the SUSE security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

  - Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Erlang OTP     ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to modify file attributes outside the configured     chroot directory. The SFTP daemon (ssh_sftpd) stores the raw, user-supplied path in file handles instead     of the chroot-resolved path. When SSH_FXP_FSETSTAT is issued on such a handle, file attributes     (permissions, ownership, timestamps) are modified on the real filesystem path, bypassing the root     directory boundary entirely. Any authenticated SFTP user on a server configured with the root option can     modify file attributes of files outside the intended chroot boundary. The prerequisite is that a target     file must exist on the real filesystem at the same relative path. Note that this vulnerability only allows     modification of file attributes; file contents cannot be read or altered through this attack vector. If     the SSH daemon runs as root, this enables direct privilege escalation: an attacker can set the setuid bit     on any binary, change ownership of sensitive files, or make system configuration world-writable. This     vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl and program routines     ssh_sftpd:do_open/4 and ssh_sftpd:handle_op/4. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 28.4.3, OTP     27.3.4.11 and OTP 26.2.5.20, corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 before 5.5.3, 5.2.11.7 and 5.1.4.15.
    (CVE-2026-32147)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Type	Severity
365371	Ubuntu 14.04 LTS / 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS / 20.04 LTS / 22.04 LTS / 24.04 LTS / 26.04 LTS : Erlang vulnerabilities (USN-8901-1)	Nessus	Ubuntu Local Security Checks	Local	critical
339216	Debian dsa-6464 : erlang - security update	Nessus	Debian Local Security Checks	Local	critical
323235	Photon OS 4.0: Erlang PHSA-2026-4.0-1038	Nessus	PhotonOS Local Security Checks	Local	high
320423	openSUSE 16 Security Update : erlang (openSUSE-SU-2026:20907-1)	Nessus	SuSE Local Security Checks	Local	high
309710	Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-32147	Nessus	Misc.	Local	medium

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