CVE-2026-32144 OCSP designated-responder authorization bypass via missing signature verification
Attackers can bypass OCSP revocation checks by forging responses, allowing connections to servers with revoked certificates and potential data exposure.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-32144?
CVE-2026-32144 is a high-severity vulnerability in Erlang OTP, published on 7 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in Erlang OTP public_key (pubkey_ocsp module) allows OCSP designated-responder authorization bypass via missing signature verification.
The OCSP response validation in public_key:pkix_ocsp_validate/5 does not verify that a CA-designated responder certificate was cryptographically signed by the issuing CA. Instead, it only checks that the responder certificate's issuer name matches the CA's subject name and that the certificate has the OCSPSigning extended key usage. An attacker who can intercept or control OCSP responses can create a self-signed certificate with a matching issuer name and the OCSPSigning EKU, and use it to forge OCSP responses that mark revoked certificates as valid.
This affects SSL/TLS clients using OCSP stapling, which may accept connections to servers with revoked certificates, potentially transmitting sensitive data to compromised servers. Applications using the public_key:pkix_ocsp_validate/5 API directly are also affected, with impact depending on usage context.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/public_key/src/pubkey_ocsp.erl and program routines pubkey_ocsp:is_authorized_responder/3.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 27.0 before OTP 28.4.2 and OTP 27.3.4.10, corresponding to public_key from 1.16 before 1.20.3 and 1.17.1.2, and ssl from 11.2 before 11.5.4 and 11.2.12.7.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-32144?
It affects 3 products.
Products include Erlang Erlang\/Otp, Erlang Erlang\/Public Key, Erlang Erlang\/Ssl.
How do I fix CVE-2026-32144?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Is CVE-2026-32144 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-32144 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Erlang OTP
- CVE-2022-37026 Auth bypass in n/a
- CVE-2016-10253 Memory corruption in n/a
- CVE-2026-55953 TLS 1.2 and DTLS client accepts unoffered anonymous cipher suite, bypassing server authentication
- CVE-2026-49759 Stack buffer overflow in SCTP error cause parsing in inet_drv allows remote VM crash
- CVE-2026-58227 TLS/DTLS denial of service via unbounded recursion on cross-signed peer certificate chain
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-32144, EEF-CVE-2026-32144, GHSA-gxrm-pf64-99xm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-32144.