CVE-2026-23943: Pre-auth SSH DoS via unbounded zlib inflate
Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Compression Bomb) vulnerability in Erlang OTP ssh (ssh_transport modules) allows Denial of Service via Resource Depletion. The SSH transport layer advertises legacy zlib compression by default and inflates attacker-controlled payloads pre-authentication without any size limit, enabling reliable memory exhaustion DoS. Two compression algorithms are affected: * zlib: Activates immediately after key exchange, enabling unauthenticated attacks * zlib@openssh.com: Activates post-authentication, enabling authenticated attacks Each SSH packet can decompress ~255 MB from 256 KB of wire data (1029:1 amplification ratio). Multiple packets can rapidly exhaust available memory, causing OOM kills in memory-constrained environments. This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/ssh/src/ssh_transport.erl and program routines ssh_transport:decompress/2, ssh_transport:handle_packet_part/4. This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 until OTP 28.4.1, 27.3.4.9 and 26.2.5.18 corresponding to ssh from 3.0.1 until 5.5.1, 5.2.11.6 and 5.1.4.14.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-23943?
CVE-2026-23943 has been classified as a Denial of Service vulnerability due to resource depletion.
How do I fix CVE-2026-23943?
To mitigate CVE-2026-23943, update your Erlang/OTP and SSH versions to versions higher than the affected ones.
What types of systems are affected by CVE-2026-23943?
CVE-2026-23943 affects Erlang/OTP versions from 17.0 to 28.4.1 and SSH versions from 3.0.1 to 5.5.1.
Can CVE-2026-23943 be exploited remotely?
Yes, CVE-2026-23943 can be exploited remotely through a pre-authentication SSH connection.
What is the nature of the attack vector for CVE-2026-23943?
CVE-2026-23943 is exploited via unbounded zlib inflate leading to denial of service from highly compressed data.