Medium severity · published Jul 2, 2026
CVE-2026-54886
SSH SFTP server denial of service via extended channel data infinite loop
4.3
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_sftpd module) allows an authenticated SFTP user to render an SFTP channel permanently unresponsive.
The handle_data/4 function in ssh_sftpd contains a catch-all clause that accepts channel data of any type. When channel data with a non-zero type code (SSH_MSG_CHANNEL_EXTENDED_DATA) arrives with an empty pending buffer and a payload at or below the SFTP packet size limit, the clause tail-calls itself with identical arguments, creating an infinite loop.
The SFTP protocol operates exclusively on normal channel data (type 0). Extended data (non-zero type) is meaningless for SFTP and is never sent by conforming clients. However, the SSH protocol permits any channel participant to send extended data on an open channel, so an authenticated SFTP client can trigger the loop by sending SSH_MSG_CHANNEL_EXTENDED_DATA with any data_type_code and any non-empty payload at or below the size limit.
The targeted ssh_sftpd process enters an infinite tail-recursive loop. It never processes another message, its message queue grows without bound, and it can only be stopped by killing the process. BEAM's reduction-based scheduler preemption continues to function, so other processes on the node are not starved, but each stuck channel process consumes its full CPU time share continuously and accumulates unbounded message queue memory. Opening many channels amplifies the CPU and memory impact.
Erlang/OTP SSH configurations using the default max_channels setting (infinity) allow an authenticated user to open unlimited channels per connection, amplifying the attack without requiring multiple TCP connections or authentications.
No file contents, credentials, or write access are obtainable through this issue. The impact is limited to denial of service on targeted SFTP channels, with secondary CPU degradation and memory growth.
This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/ssh/src/ssh_sftpd.erl and program routine ssh_sftpd:handle_data/4.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 29.0.3, OTP 28.5.0.3 and OTP 27.3.4.14, corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 before 6.0.2, 5.5.2.2 and 5.2.11.9.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 26% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
OT
OTP · Erlang
3.0.1; 17.0; 84adefa3318eef8631bf25cd233246a86eea18cd before eaf9550b8ad4738b81149d3f617102d980c6dd18 · source: vendor
ER
Erlang/otp · Erlang
17.0 before 27.3.4.14; 28.0 before 28.5.0.3; 29.0 before 29.0.3 · source: NVD
ER
Erlang/ssh · Erlang
3.0.1 before 5.2.11.9; 5.3 before 5.5.2.2; 6.0 before 6.0.2 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54886
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-54886
Mitigation
https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-54886.html
Patch
https://github.com/erlang/otp/commit/eaf9550b8ad4738b81149d3f617102d980c6dd18
Mitigation
https://github.com/erlang/otp/security/advisories/GHSA-7wp4-pc27-2vj9
Mitigation
https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-54886
Release Notes
https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/versions.html#order-of-versions
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