# CVE-2026-74994: inets, httpd: Authentication Bypass via Directory Namespace Collapse in httpd mod_auth

> Attackers can bypass authentication in Erlang OTP httpd when using specific backends, gaining unauthorized access to protected directories.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-98496, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74994, EEF-CVE-2026-74994, GHSA-c3cq-q8x6-547g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74994

## What is CVE-2026-74994?

CVE-2026-74994 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Erlang OTP, published on 1 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The mod_auth module in OTP's inets httpd server, when configured with dets or mnesia authentication backends and multiple directory configuration blocks, collapses all directory blocks into a single shared user/group namespace. A user added to one protected directory is accepted as valid for all other protected directories on the same server instance.

This issue affects OTP from OTP 17.0 before OTP 27.3.4.17, from OTP 28.0 before OTP 28.5.0.6, and from OTP 29.0 before OTP 29.0.6, corresponding to inets from 5.10 before 9.3.2.7, from 9.4 before 9.6.2.3, and from 9.7 before 9.7.2. Whether OTP before OTP 17.0, corresponding to inets before 5.10, is affected is unknown.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization), CWE-1289 (Improper Validation of Unsafe Equivalence in Input)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74994?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74994?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-74994 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74994 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74994 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74994 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Erlang OTP, published on 1 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74994 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Erlang OTP. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74994/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74994/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74994
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74994
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74994

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74994/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.