CVE-2026-55734
guardian atom exhaustion in Guardian.Permissions.encode_permissions!/1
Published Aug 1, 2026
CVSS 4.0 · 6.9 Medium
EPSS < 1%
KEV · Not listed
Description
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ueberauth guardian (Guardian.Permissions module) allows a denial of service via BEAM atom-table exhaustion.
This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/guardian/permissions.ex and program routines 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2.
The Guardian.Permissions mixin installs a public encode_permissions!/1 function on every module that does use Guardian.Permissions. For each key of the supplied map, encode_permissions!/1 calls String.to_atom(to_string(k)) before any validation runs. The integer-value clause of do_encode_permissions!/2 then short-circuits straight to encoding without validating the key against the configured permission set, so a key with an integer value is interned as a fresh atom with no exception raised. Atoms are never garbage collected and the BEAM atom table is a fixed-size resource (default roughly 1,048,576 entries), so each unique attacker-chosen key permanently consumes one slot. An attacker who can influence a permission map that reaches encode_permissions!/1 (for example a permissions map read from a request body and passed into token issuance via encode_permissions_into_claims!/2) can mint an unbounded number of atoms and exhaust the atom table, crashing the entire BEAM node and every service running on it. The sibling decode_permissions/1 is not affected because it skips keys absent from the configured permission set.
This issue affects guardian: from 2.0.0 before 2.4.1.
This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/guardian/permissions.ex and program routines 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2.
The Guardian.Permissions mixin installs a public encode_permissions!/1 function on every module that does use Guardian.Permissions. For each key of the supplied map, encode_permissions!/1 calls String.to_atom(to_string(k)) before any validation runs. The integer-value clause of do_encode_permissions!/2 then short-circuits straight to encoding without validating the key against the configured permission set, so a key with an integer value is interned as a fresh atom with no exception raised. Atoms are never garbage collected and the BEAM atom table is a fixed-size resource (default roughly 1,048,576 entries), so each unique attacker-chosen key permanently consumes one slot. An attacker who can influence a permission map that reaches encode_permissions!/1 (for example a permissions map read from a request body and passed into token issuance via encode_permissions_into_claims!/2) can mint an unbounded number of atoms and exhaust the atom table, crashing the entire BEAM node and every service running on it. The sibling decode_permissions/1 is not affected because it skips keys absent from the configured permission set.
This issue affects guardian: from 2.0.0 before 2.4.1.
Affected Products
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CVE record
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NVD configurations
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Red Hat packages
No data
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OpenCVE enrichment
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ueberauth | guardian | unaffected |
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| ueberauth | guardian | unaffected |
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No data.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ueberauth | Guardian |
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| Ueberauth | Guardian |
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Remediation
Vendor Workaround
Before calling encode_permissions!/1 or encode_permissions_into_claims!/2, filter the permission map so that only keys belonging to the configured permission set are passed in, discarding any unknown keys. Avoid passing attacker-influenced permission maps into these functions.
Tracking
Advisories
Metrics
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
Attack Requirements Present
User Interaction None
Vulnerable System Confidentiality Impact None
Vulnerable System Integrity Impact None
Vulnerable System Availability Impact High
Subsequent System Confidentiality Impact None
Subsequent System Integrity Impact None
Subsequent System Availability Impact High
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact None
Integrity Impact None
Availability Impact High
User Interaction None
No CVSS v3.0
No CVSS v2
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.476% probability within 30 days)
Exploitation poc
Automatable no
Technical Impact partial
References
History
Aug 3, 2026 5:30 PM
Scoring metrics updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
ssvc
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Aug 1, 2026 7:00 PM
Description updated. Title updated. First appearance in the feed. Weaknesses updated. Affected versions updated. Affected vendors updated. Added references. Scoring metrics updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in ueberauth guardian (Guardian.Permissions module) allows a denial of service via BEAM atom-table exhaustion. This vulnerability is associated with program file lib/guardian/permissions.ex and program routines 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions!/1, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':encode_permissions_into_claims!/2, 'Elixir.Guardian.Permissions':do_encode_permissions!/2. The Guardian.Permissions mixin installs a public encode_permissions!/1 function on every module that does use Guardian.Permissions. For each key of the supplied map, encode_permissions!/1 calls String.to_atom(to_string(k)) before any validation runs. The integer-value clause of do_encode_permissions!/2 then short-circuits straight to encoding without validating the key against the configured permission set, so a key with an integer value is interned as a fresh atom with no exception raised. Atoms are never garbage collected and the BEAM atom table is a fixed-size resource (default roughly 1,048,576 entries), so each unique attacker-chosen key permanently consumes one slot. An attacker who can influence a permission map that reaches encode_permissions!/1 (for example a permissions map read from a request body and passed into token issuance via encode_permissions_into_claims!/2) can mint an unbounded number of atoms and exhaust the atom table, crashing the entire BEAM node and every service running on it. The sibling decode_permissions/1 is not affected because it skips keys absent from the configured permission set. This issue affects guardian: from 2.0.0 before 2.4.1. | |
| Title | guardian atom exhaustion in Guardian.Permissions.encode_permissions!/1 | |
| First Time appeared |
Ueberauth
Ueberauth guardian |
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| Weaknesses | CWE-770 | |
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:a:ueberauth:guardian:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Ueberauth
Ueberauth guardian |
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| References |
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| Metrics |
cvssV4_0
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Weaknesses