Erlang OTP SSL TLS1.2/DTLS Client Ignores Server Cipher Suite Before 27.3.4.15
CVE-2026-55953 Published on July 27, 2026
TLS 1.2 and DTLS client accepts unoffered anonymous cipher suite, bypassing server authentication
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 17.0 before OTP 29.0.4, OTP 28.5.0.4 and OTP 27.3.4.15, corresponding to ssl from 5.3.4 before 11.7.4, 11.6.0.4 and 11.2.12.11.
Weakness Type
What is an Algorithm Downgrade Vulnerability?
A protocol or its implementation supports interaction between multiple actors and allows those actors to negotiate which algorithm should be used as a protection mechanism such as encryption or authentication, but it does not select the strongest algorithm that is available to both parties. When a security mechanism can be forced to downgrade to use a less secure algorithm, this can make it easier for attackers to compromise the software by exploiting weaker algorithm. The victim might not be aware that the less secure algorithm is being used. For example, if an attacker can force a communications channel to use cleartext instead of strongly-encrypted data, then the attacker could read the channel by sniffing, instead of going through extra effort of trying to decrypt the data using brute force techniques.
CVE-2026-55953 has been classified to as an Algorithm Downgrade vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-55953
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Affected Versions
Erlang OTP:- Version 5.3.4 and below * is affected.
- Version 17.0 and below * is affected.
- Version 84adefa331c4159d432d22840663c38f155cd4c1 and below * is affected.