Description
Use of Default Cryptographic Key vulnerability in Erlang/OTP ssl (DTLS server) allows predictable DTLS cookie computation during the startup window, enabling source address verification bypass.
On DTLS server startup, dtls_server_connection:initial_hello/3 initializes previous_cookie_secret to the empty binary (<<>>) instead of a random value. Because HMAC with an empty key is deterministic, anyone who observes the plaintext ClientHello can compute dtls_handshake:cookie(<<>>, IP, Port, Hello) and forge a valid DTLS cookie before the first rotation of the cookie secret. The DTLS cookie (RFC 6347 §4.2.1) is a denial-of-service mitigation that prevents spoofed source IPs from forcing the server to allocate state and perform expensive cryptographic operations; it is not an authentication mechanism. During the window from server startup until the first secret rotation (0 to 15 seconds), an attacker who can observe the plaintext ClientHello can bypass the source address verification, enabling DTLS handshake amplification with spoofed source addresses.
This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssl/src/dtls_server_connection.erl and program routine dtls_server_connection:initial_hello/3.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 20.0 before OTP 27.3.4.14, OTP 28.5.0.3, and OTP 29.0.3, corresponding to ssl from 8.2 before 11.2.12.10, 11.6.0.3, and 11.7.3.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erlang | OTP | 20.0, 8.2 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | erlang | 1:29.0.3+dfsg-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | erlang | 1:27.3.4.1+dfsg-1+deb13u3 | — |
| Debian 12 | erlang | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | erlang | 1:27.3.4.6+dfsg-1ubuntu0.2 | USN-8901-1 |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | erlang | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | erlang | 1:25.3.2.8+dfsg-1ubuntu4.8 | USN-8901-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | erlang | 1:24.2.1+dfsg-1ubuntu0.8 | USN-8901-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | erlang | 1:22.2.7+dfsg-1ubuntu0.5+esm3 | USN-8901-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | erlang | 1:20.2.2+dfsg-1ubuntu2+esm4 | USN-8901-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | erlang | 1:18.3-dfsg-1ubuntu3.1+esm4 | USN-8901-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | erlang | 1:16.b.3-dfsg-1ubuntu2.2+esm3 | USN-8901-1 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | erlang26 | 26.2.1-150300.7.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3579-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | erlang26 | 26.2.1-150300.7.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3579-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 SP6 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP6 | erlang26 | 26.2.1-150300.7.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3579-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP5 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP5 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | erlang | 23.3.4.19-150300.3.39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | erlang | 28.5.0.4-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11559-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | erlang27 | 27.1.3-3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11560-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | erlang | 26.2.5.21-6 | — |
Advisories 6
- USN-8901-1 erlang vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 8, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-2194 Erlang/OTP: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Sep 28, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11559-1 erlang-28.5.0.4-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 21, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11560-1 erlang27-27.1.3-3.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 21, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3645-1 Security update for erlang SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 21, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3579-1 Security update for erlang26 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 12, 2026
References
- DTLS Cookie Bypass During Startup vendor-advisory related
- EEF CNA record for CVE-2026-54887 related
- OSV record EEF-CVE-2026-54887 related
- Erlang/OTP version ordering
- Introducing commit e594aad in erlang/otp related
- Fix commit 888e3bc in erlang/otp patch