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High7.4Red Hat Linux

High [CVE-2026-55953] Erlang/OTP ssl client: Authentication bypass via unoffered anonymous cipher suite acceptance

This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-55953 affecting Red Hat Hardened Images, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.2, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1.

CVE-2026-55953 Published Jul 27, 2026Updated by vendor Jul 27, 2026
Affected products & platforms
Red Hat LinuxUnclassified
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Summary

The Erlang/OTP ssl TLS 1.2 (and earlier) and DTLS client does not verify that the cipher suite selected by the server in ServerHello was among the suites offered by the client in ClientHello.

The client-side tls_handshake:hello/5 handler validates the negotiated protocol version and the downgrade sentinel but hands the server-chosen suite directly to ssl_handshake:handle_server_hello_extensions/9, which installs it without a membership check. The TLS 1.3 client path performs this check (per RFC 8446), so it is not affected.

An on-path attacker between the client and the intended server can respond with a ServerHello selecting an anonymous key exchange suite such as TLS_DH_anon_* or TLS_ECDH_anon_* that the client never offered.

Anonymous suites do not require the server to present a certificate, so the entire verify_peer and cacerts configuration is bypassed: the attacker completes the handshake with its own ephemeral parameters, no certificate is validated, no hostname is checked, and ssl:connect returns {ok, Socket}.

All subsequent application traffic is readable and modifiable by the attacker. This issue affects OTP from OTP R13B03 before OTP 27.3.4.15, from OTP 28.0 before OTP 28.5.0.4, and from OTP 29.0 before OTP 29.0.4, corresponding to ssl from 3.10.7 before 11.2.12.11, from 11.3 before 11.6.0.4, and from 11.7 before 11.7.4.

Affected versions
  • < 27.3.4.15
  • < 28.0
  • < 28.5.0.4
  • < 29.0
  • < 29.0.4
  • < 3.10.7
  • < 11.2.12.11
  • < 11.3
  • < 11.6.0.4
  • < 11.7
  • < 11.7.4

Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source

Fixed versions
  • erlang27-main-27.3.4.15-0.1.hum1
  • RHSA-2026:47009

Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source

Mitigation checklist

Recommended fix / mitigation
  • Clients using only TLS 1.3 are not affected; the TLS 1.3 client handshake path validates the negotiated cipher suite. As a workaround for TLS 1.2/DTLS clients prior to upgrading, explicitly disable anonymous cipher suites (TLS_DH_anon_*, TLS_ECDH_anon_*) in the ssl client configuration, or restrict the client to TLS 1.3-only.

Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source

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