Node memory exhaustion via recursive charlist error rendering
Published Aug 28, 2026 · Updated Aug 28, 2026
Uncontrolled recursion in Elixir's standard library allows attackers to exhaust a BEAM node's memory by passing a crafted list for rendering. Inspect.List checks only the first 4,096 elements before converting the whole list, while the conversion error handler inspects the same list and re-enters that path. Reachability requires an application path that inspects or stringifies attacker-controlled list data; one call can hang its process or exhaust node memory.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled recursion in Elixir's standard library allows attackers to exhaust a BEAM node's memory by passing a crafted list for rendering. Inspect.List checks only the first 4,096 elements before converting the whole list, while the conversion error handler inspects the same list and re-enters that path. Reachability requires an application path that inspects or stringifies attacker-controlled list data; one call can hang its process or exhaust node memory.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-75758
- Published
- Aug 28, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 28, 2026
- Vendor
- The Elixir Team
- Product
- Elixir
- Classifications
- CWE-674, CAPEC-130, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 28, 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=1.15.0-rc.0 <1.18.5
- Affected versionversion=1.19.0-rc.0 <1.19.6
- Affected versionversion=1.20.0-rc.0 <1.20.4
- Affected versionversion=9718f2b90ce086ff8614d5782f4ec528495c98dd <* changes=[{"at":"1eff1acffd49bdcc0d7f57ca74c1603328eed68a","status":"unaffected"},{"at":"5230d73968f1b4969d2a2646786fa6c71475f5cc","status":"unaffected"},{"at":"a983c8c043b1fbf1d95df78a29149222dac2988c","status":"unaffected"},{"at":"0bba5887577b1e328da825bd018815fdc519685a","status":"unaffected"}]
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
- GHSA-jf5q-v438-665c bounded proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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