CVE-2026-121808: Memory exhaustion via compressed Erlang terms in the elixir-grpc Erlpack codec
elixir-grpc · grpc
Vendor fix available · Affected: elixir-grpc grpc · Exploitation: unlikely (under 1%)
Not in CyberSIXT coverage yet: no article names this CVE. This page shows the public record.
Higher than 53% of scored CVEs
DescriptionCVE.org
Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification) vulnerability in elixir-grpc grpc_core and grpc allows unauthenticated attackers to exhaust server memory via a compressed Erlang external term in a gRPC message body. GRPC.Codec.Erlpack.decode/2 (grpc_core/lib/grpc/codec/erlpack.ex, and lib/grpc/codec/erlpack.ex before the package split) passes the message body to :erlang.binary_to_term/2. That function inflates a compressed term in full before it returns. The codec sets no limit on the decoded size, and its type checks run only on the decoded term. The server's max_body_size limit counts the compressed bytes of the request. A request with Content-Type: application/grpc+erlpack can therefore make the server allocate a term much larger than the request body. This issue affects grpc: from 0.4.0 before 1.0.0; grpc_core: from 1.0.0 before 1.1.0.
Affected products4
From the CVE record. A product or version that is not listed is unknown, not unaffected.
- elixir-grpc · grpcfrom 0.4.0 before 1.0.0
- elixir-grpc · grpcVersions not stated
- elixir-grpc · grpc_corefrom 1.0.0 before 1.1.0
- elixir-grpc · grpc_coreVersions not stated
On the Atlas
Every published CVE is on the CyberSIXT Atlas, grouped by weakness, vendor and month.
- Exploitation
- Unlikely (under 1%). EPSS under 1%, or no score yet.
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Public check
- No public nuclei template
- Vendor
- elixir-grpc
- Published
- November 2026
CoverageNo articles yet
No CyberSIXT article names CVE-2026-121808 yet, so there is no coverage timeline, action brief or change log for it. Everything on this page comes from the public CVE record, CISA KEV, EPSS and the nuclei template index. Search the archive or see the CVEs in the news.