etcd: `tlsListener.acceptLoop` spawns unbounded handshake goroutines with no deadline

CISA KEV is observed exploitation evidence. FIRST EPSS is a dated prediction of exploitation in the next 30 days. Missing scores are unknown. This collector requests predictions only for explicit CVE aliases in the public NuGet archive; Microsoft release views retain their existing prediction scope.

No collected risk observation for these identifiers. This does not establish absence of exploitation or a zero probability.

etcd is a distributed key-value store for the data of a distributed system. Prior to versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1, a network attacker who can reach an etcd TLS listener can open many TCP connections and never send a ClientHello. In client/pkg/transport/listener_tls.go, each connection handled by tlsListener.acceptLoop spawns a goroutine that blocks indefinitely inside tls.Conn.Handshake() and remains tracked in the pending map. Unbounded goroutine and map growth can exhaust memory in the etcd process, causing loss of availability for the cluster and, when etcd backs Kubernetes, the control plane. This issue is fixed in versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1.

Source published

12 Aug 2026 21:22:25 UTC

Source modified

13 Aug 2026 17:53:16 UTC

Observed here

23 Oct 2026 15:48:27 UTC

Source terms

CVE Program Terms of Use

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CVSS 4.0 · 8.7 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

etcd is a distributed key-value store for the data of a distributed system. Prior to versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1, a network attacker who can reach an etcd TLS listener can open many TCP connections and never send a ClientHello. In client/pkg/transport/listener_tls.go, each connection handled by tlsListener.acceptLoop spawns a goroutine that blocks indefinitely inside tls.Conn.Handshake() and remains tracked in the pending map. Unbounded goroutine and map growth can exhaust memory in the etcd process, causing loss of availability for the cluster and, when etcd backs Kubernetes, the control plane. This issue is fixed in versions 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1.

Source published

12 Aug 2026 22:17:17 UTC

Source modified

24 Oct 2026 15:10:00 UTC

Observed here

25 Oct 2026 15:19:09 UTC

Source terms

NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: nvd · NIST NVD usage terms; underlying source attribution retained. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS 4.0 · [email protected] · Secondary · 8.7 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

### Impact _What kind of vulnerability is it? Who is impacted?_ A network attacker who can reach an etcd TLS listener can open many TCP connections and never send a ClientHello. Each connection spawns a goroutine in the etcd server process that blocks indefinitely inside tls.Conn.Handshake(), and each is tracked in the pending map. Unbounded goroutine and map growth exhausts memory in the etcd process, causing loss of availability for the etcd cluster (and, when etcd backs Kubernetes, the control plane). ### Patches _Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?_ This vulnerability is patched in the following versions: - etcd 3.7.1 - etcd 3.6.14 - etcd 3.5.33 ### Workarounds _Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?_ If upgrading is not immediately possible, then restrict network access. Limit which hosts can reach etcd's client (gRPC) port via firewall rules or network policy, reducing who can attempt exploitation. ### Reporter VMware By Broadcom

Source published

24 Jul 2026 22:40:16 UTC

Source modified

10 Sep 2026 03:51:10 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0

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This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC-BY-4.0. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.

CVSS_V4 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Publisher rating · HIGH

In go.etcd.io/etcd/client/pkg/v3 before 3.5.33, 3.6.14, and 3.7.1, TLS handshakes on listeners created by NewTLSListener do not enforce a handshake deadline. An unauthenticated network attacker who connects to an etcd TLS listener without sending a ClientHello causes a goroutine and a tracking map entry to block indefinitely. Opening many such connections exhausts memory, leading to a denial of service.

Source published

18 Aug 2026 16:38:10 UTC

Source modified

19 Aug 2026 21:41:59 UTC

Observed here

24 Oct 2026 13:19:41 UTC

Source terms

OSV · upstream source license applies

Original source record · Cite this exact observation · Complete original publisher JSON

This view projects the publisher's source fields for reading; the original JSON retains additional fields and CVE enrichment containers. Attribution: osv · OSV · upstream source license applies. Source text is retained; field grouping and change labels are provided by ChangeIntel.