Only applications that derive a Guardian key (the conn/session namespace) from attacker-influenced data are exploitable. This is the case when a caller-supplied value such as a tenant identifier, request header, or other request input is passed as the :key option to entry points like Guardian.Plug.current_token/2. Applications that use a static namespace (the default :default key or hardcoded atoms) are not affected.
" } ], "value": "Only applications that derive a Guardian key (the conn/session namespace) from attacker-influenced data are exploitable. This is the case when a caller-supplied value such as a tenant identifier, request header, or other request input is passed as the :key option to entry points like Guardian.Plug.current_token/2. Applications that use a static namespace (the default :default key or hardcoded atoms) are not affected." } ], "cpeApplicability": [ { "nodes": [ { "cpeMatch": [ { "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:ueberauth:guardian:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionEndExcluding": "2.4.1", "versionStartIncluding": "0.1.0", "vulnerable": true } ], "negate": false, "operator": "OR" } ], "operator": "AND" } ], "credits": [ { "lang": "en", "type": "finder", "value": "Peter Ullrich" }, { "lang": "en", "type": "remediation developer", "value": "Yordis Prieto" }, { "lang": "en", "type": "analyst", "value": "Jonatan Männchen / EEF" } ], "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "supportingMedia": [ { "base64": false, "type": "text/html", "value": "Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in ueberauth guardian allows denial of service via unbounded atom creation from attacker-influenced binary input.
Guardian.Plug.Keys derives connection and session namespace keys by passing arbitrary binaries to String.to_atom/1. base_key/1 in lib/guardian/plug/keys.ex converts any binary into the atom :\"guardian_<input>\", and the derived helpers claims_key/1, resource_key/1, and token_key/1 create a second atom on top of that. key_from_other/1 likewise converts a regex-captured binary through String.to_atom/1. The public specs advertise String.t() as a valid argument, so passing a string is documented usage, and higher-level entry points such as Guardian.Plug.current_token(conn, key: key) thread the caller-supplied key straight into these functions.
String.to_atom/1 creates a brand-new atom for every previously unseen binary, atoms are never garbage collected, and the BEAM atom table is fixed at roughly 1,048,576 entries by default. An application that routes attacker-influenced data (a tenant identifier, header, or other request input) into a Guardian key therefore mints one permanent atom per distinct value. A modest stream of varied, unauthenticated input permanently consumes the atom table and crashes the BEAM node, taking down every application running on it.
This issue affects guardian: from 0.1.0 before 2.4.1.
" } ], "value": "Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in ueberauth guardian allows denial of service via unbounded atom creation from attacker-influenced binary input.\n\nGuardian.Plug.Keys derives connection and session namespace keys by passing arbitrary binaries to String.to_atom/1. base_key/1 in lib/guardian/plug/keys.ex converts any binary into the atom :\"guardian_\", and the derived helpers claims_key/1, resource_key/1, and token_key/1 create a second atom on top of that. key_from_other/1 likewise converts a regex-captured binary through String.to_atom/1. The public specs advertise String.t() as a valid argument, so passing a string is documented usage, and higher-level entry points such as Guardian.Plug.current_token(conn, key: key) thread the caller-supplied key straight into these functions.\n\nString.to_atom/1 creates a brand-new atom for every previously unseen binary, atoms are never garbage collected, and the BEAM atom table is fixed at roughly 1,048,576 entries by default. An application that routes attacker-influenced data (a tenant identifier, header, or other request input) into a Guardian key therefore mints one permanent atom per distinct value. A modest stream of varied, unauthenticated input permanently consumes the atom table and crashes the BEAM node, taking down every application running on it.\n\nThis issue affects guardian: from 0.1.0 before 2.4.1." } ], "impacts": [ { "capecId": "CAPEC-130", "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "CAPEC-130 Excessive Allocation" } ] } ], "metrics": [ { "cvssV4_0": { "attackComplexity": "LOW", "attackRequirements": "PRESENT", "attackVector": "LOCAL", "baseScore": 6.9, "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM", "privilegesRequired": "NONE", "subAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH", "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE", "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE", "userInteraction": "NONE", "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H", "version": "4.0", "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH", "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "NONE", "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE" }, "format": "CVSS", "scenarios": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "GENERAL" } ] } ], "problemTypes": [ { "descriptions": [ { "cweId": "CWE-770", "description": "CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling", "lang": "en", "type": "CWE" } ] } ], "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db", "shortName": "EEF", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-01T18:46:05.861Z" }, "references": [ { "tags": [ "vendor-advisory", "related" ], "url": "https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian/security/advisories/GHSA-xqch-c77q-rgh5" }, { "tags": [ "related" ], "url": "https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-54894.html" }, { "tags": [ "related" ], "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-54894" }, { "tags": [ "patch" ], "url": "https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian/commit/2952657e42e6341a67e6aaad09d8f0b40ae917cb" } ], "source": { "discovery": "EXTERNAL" }, "title": "Atom-table exhaustion denial of service in Guardian via unbounded atom creation from binary keys", "workarounds": [ { "lang": "en", "supportingMedia": [ { "base64": false, "type": "text/html", "value": "Do not derive Guardian keys from untrusted input. Use a fixed, hardcoded set of namespace keys, or validate the value against a bounded allowlist of known keys, before passing it as the :key option.
" } ], "value": "Do not derive Guardian keys from untrusted input. Use a fixed, hardcoded set of namespace keys, or validate the value against a bounded allowlist of known keys, before passing it as the :key option." } ], "x_generator": { "engine": "cvelib 1.8.0" } }, "adp": [ { "references": [ { "url": "https://github.com/ueberauth/guardian/security/advisories/GHSA-xqch-c77q-rgh5", "tags": [ "exploit" ] } ], "metrics": [ { "other": { "type": "ssvc", "content": { "timestamp": "2026-08-03T17:49:32.217048Z", "id": "CVE-2026-54894", "options": [ { "Exploitation": "poc" }, { "Automatable": "no" }, { "Technical Impact": "partial" } ], "role": "CISA Coordinator", "version": "2.0.3" } } } ], "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment", "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "shortName": "CISA-ADP", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-03T17:49:54.220Z" } } ] } }