REDHAT-BUG-2482286: High severity Erlang OTP vulnerability

Published May 27, 2026
·
Updated

Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in Erlang OTP publickey (pubkeycert and publickey modules) allows a DNS nameConstraints bypass via subject CommonName fallback in TLS hostname verification.

Two flaws combine to allow a subordinate CA whose DNS nameConstraints are restricted (e.g. permitted;DNS:allowed.example.com) to issue a leaf certificate that an OTP TLS client accepts as a valid identity for an out-of-scope hostname (e.g. victim.example.com):

First, pubkeycert:validatenames/6 in lib/publickey/src/pubkeycert.erl only checks SAN DNS entries against nameConstraints. Per RFC 5280, a permitted DNS subtree only restricts certificates that contain a DNS-typed name. A leaf with no subjectAltName therefore trivially satisfies any permitted;DNS:... constraint regardless of its subject commonName.

Second, publickey:pkixverifyhostname/3 in lib/publickey/src/publickey.erl falls back to the subject commonName when no subjectAltName is present, extracting id-at-commonName attributes as presented IDs and matching them against the reference hostname. The strict pkixverifyhostnamematchfun(https) matcher does not suppress this fallback.

The result is that path validation accepts a CN-only leaf under a DNS-constrained intermediate (no SAN means the nameConstraints are not triggered), and hostname verification then accepts it via the CN fallback. The bypass is reachable from stock ssl:connect with verifypeer, a trusted CA, SNI, and the canonical strict https hostname matcher.

This issue affects OTP from OTP 19.3 before OTP 26.2.5.21, 27.3.4.12, 28.5.0.1, and 29.0.1 corresponding to publickey from 1.4 before 1.15.1.7, 1.17.1.3, 1.20.3.1, and 1.21.1.

Affected Software

2 affected components
Erlang OTP>19.3, <26.2.5.21, <27.3.4.12, <28.5.0.1, <29.0.1
public_key>1.4<=1.15.1.7, >1.17.1.3<=1.20.3.1, >1.21.1<=1.21.1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade erlang/otp public_key (pubkey_cert and public_key modules) to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 26.2.5.21
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade erlang/otp public_key (pubkey_cert and public_key modules) to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 27.3.4.12
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade erlang/otp public_key (pubkey_cert and public_key modules) to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 28.5.0.1
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade erlang/otp public_key (pubkey_cert and public_key modules) to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 29.0.1

Event History

May 27, 2026
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·05:03 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-2482286?

The severity of REDHAT-BUG-2482286 is considered high with a score of 7.

2

How do I fix REDHAT-BUG-2482286?

To fix REDHAT-BUG-2482286, upgrade to the latest version of Erlang OTP that addresses the certificate validation issues.

3

What type of vulnerability is REDHAT-BUG-2482286?

REDHAT-BUG-2482286 is an Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability related to DNS nameConstraints.

4

What is affected by REDHAT-BUG-2482286?

REDHAT-BUG-2482286 affects the public_key module in Erlang OTP.

5

When was REDHAT-BUG-2482286 published?

REDHAT-BUG-2482286 was published on May 27, 2026.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203