Unauthenticated RCE and node crash via unsafe deserialization
Published Jun 15, 2026 · Updated Jun 15, 2026
Unsafe term deserialization in elixir-grpc grpc 0.4.0 through 0.11.5 allows remote attackers to crash the BEAM node or execute code. GRPC.Codec.Erlpack.decode/2 passes the raw gRPC body to binary_to_term/1 without safe mode, a size limit, or type validation. Exploitation requires explicit Erlpack codec registration; fresh atoms exhaust the bounded atom table, while code execution also requires downstream invocation of a decoded fun.
Summary
What happened
Unsafe term deserialization in elixir-grpc grpc 0.4.0 through 0.11.5 allows remote attackers to crash the BEAM node or execute code. GRPC.Codec.Erlpack.decode/2 passes the raw gRPC body to binary_to_term/1 without safe mode, a size limit, or type validation. Exploitation requires explicit Erlpack codec registration; fresh atoms exhaust the bounded atom table, while code execution also requires downstream invocation of a decoded fun.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-48853
- Published
- Jun 15, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 15, 2026
- Vendor
- elixir-grpc
- Product
- grpc
- Classifications
- CWE-770, CWE-502, T1499.004, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0.4.0 <1.0.0
- Affected versionversion=25bcc569fe2cc4478531a6c546c923205fc751c9 <272a97a5ea1b46af1819f14a831fcf35fc91f992
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Upstream Erlpack crafted-payload proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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