CVE-2026-39883 — sdk
CVE-2026-39883 is a CWE-426 vulnerability in go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk. A fix is available for go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk — see the affected versions and patch details below.
OpenTelemetry-Go has an incomplete fix for CVE-2026-24051: BSD kenv command not using absolute path enables PATH hijacking
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-39883.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
Real-World Exposure
go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdkReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
The fix for GHSA-9h8m-3fm2-qjrq (CVE-2026-24051) changed the Darwin ioreg command to use an absolute path but left the BSD kenv command using a bare name, allowing the same PATH hijacking attack on BSD and Solaris platforms.
Root Cause
sdk/resource/host_id.go line 42:
if result, err := r.execCommand("kenv", "-q", "smbios.system.uuid"); err == nil {
Compare with the fixed Darwin path at line 58:
result, err := r.execCommand("/usr/sbin/ioreg", "-rd1", "-c", "IOPlatformExpertDevice")
The execCommand helper at sdk/resource/host_id_exec.go uses exec.Command(name, arg...) which searches $PATH when the command name contains no path separator.
Affected platforms (per build tag in host_id_bsd.go:4): DragonFly BSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris.
The kenv path is reached when /etc/hostid does not exist (line 38-40), which is common on FreeBSD systems.
Attack
- Attacker has local access to a system running a Go application that imports
go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk - Attacker places a malicious
kenvbinary earlier in$PATH - Application initializes OpenTelemetry resource detection at startup
hostIDReaderBSD.read()callsexec.Command("kenv", ...)which resolves to the malicious binary- Arbitrary code executes in the context of the application
Same attack vector and impact as CVE-2026-24051.
Suggested Fix
Use the absolute path:
if result, err := r.execCommand("/bin/kenv", "-q", "smbios.system.uuid"); err == nil {
On FreeBSD, kenv is located at /bin/kenv.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk | ≥ 1.15.0&&< 1.43.0 | 1.43.0go get go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk@v1.43.0 |
Affected Products
opentelemetryopentelemetryDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk to 1.43.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-39883 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This is an Important flaw in OpenTelemetry-Go that allows a local attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation through PATH hijacking. This vulnerability is specific to BSD and Solaris platforms due to the use of the `kenv` command and does not directly affect Red Hat Enterprise Linux…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.19 | cert-manager/cert-manager-istio-csr-rhel9:1788348594 | RHSA-2026:63140 |
| Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20 | cert-manager/cert-manager-istio-csr-rhel9:1790223719 | RHSA-2026:72395 |
| Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20 | cert-manager/cert-manager-istio-csr-rhel9:1790589914 | RHSA-2026:72475 |
| multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.8 | multicluster-engine/assisted-service-8-rhel8:1781539691 | RHSA-2026:26257 |
| multicluster engine for Kubernetes 2.8 | multicluster-engine/assisted-service-9-rhel9:1781539725 | RHSA-2026:26254 |
| Red Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.22 | odf4/cephcsi-rhel9:1782932114 | RHSA-2026:37387 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Workload Availability 0.3 | workload-availability/storage-based-remediation-rhel9-operator:1785203474 | RHSA-2026:54286 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Workload Availability 0.8 | workload-availability/fence-agents-remediation-rhel9-operator:1785203079 | RHSA-2026:54274 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-39883 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.