CVE-2026-103502: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-5rf8-f3v4-rg98
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CWE-295
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-103502 is a MODERATE security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-103502 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-103502
GHSA Identifier GHSA-5rf8-f3v4-rg98
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-103502

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-103502, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation, where the product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in hexpm hex_core allows an attacker who can intercept HTTPS connections to impersonate hex.pm, repo.hex.pm or any other repository or API server to programs that use hex_core's default HTTP adapter on Erlang/OTP 24, or on OTP 25 when the operating system's CA certificates can't be loaded. hex_core:default_config/0 selects the built-in hex_http_httpc adapter. For an HTTPS request whose adapter config has no ssl option, hex_http_httpc:http_options/2 builds options that verify the server certificate against public_key:cacerts_get/0. When that call raises, the adapter prints a warning and sends the request without ssl options, so httpc uses the defaults of the ssl application, which before OTP 26 don't verify the server certificate. public_key:cacerts_get/0 doesn't exist on OTP 24, so every HTTPS request falls back there, and on OTP 25 it raises when no CA store is found. hex_core versions before 0.11.0 never set ssl options, so they don't verify the server certificate on OTP 25 and earlier whether or not a CA store is found. The fallback was intended and documented, but the documentation didn't make clear that it meant no certificate verification. Since hex_core 0.8.2 the README has warned that the built-in httpc adapter "has insecure default settings" and recommended other HTTP clients, and the adapter prints "using default ssl options which are insecure" on every request that falls back. hex_core 0.11.0 added certificate verification with the changelog entry "Use secure SSL defaults for OTP 25+". Neither the README nor the warning says that the server certificate isn't verified, the README doesn't say which OTP versions the warning applies to, and on OTP 25 without CA certificates the warning tells users to upgrade to OTP 25 or later, which they already run. This advisory is published so that users who took those notices as general advice know their HTTPS requests weren't authenticated. This issue affects hex_core: from 0.1.0 before 0.20.0.

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/hexpm/hex_core/security/advisories/GHSA-p26c-h8c2-rwqj
NVD — CVE-2026-103502 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-103502
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/hexpm/hex_core/commit/b7b3a42defb4ed8e20a5c68a4412ce68a95b7938
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/hexpm/hex_core/commit/fbb6d9de472e5edb8d6fb6b32a91cb266137892e
cna.erlef.org/cves/cve-2026-10350... WEB
https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-103502.html
osv.dev/vulnerability/eef-c... WEB
https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-103502

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-103502?
CVE-2026-103502 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-103502?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-103502?
CVE-2026-103502 is classified under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation (The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-103502?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-5rf8-f3v4-rg98",
  "modified" : "2026-10-12T15:32:16Z",
  "published" : "2026-10-12T15:32:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-103502" ],
  "details" : "Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in hexpm hex_core allows an attacker who can intercept HTTPS connections to impersonate hex.pm, repo.hex.pm or any other repository or API server to programs that use hex_core's default HTTP adapter on Erlang/OTP 24, or on OTP 25 when the operating system's CA certificates can't be loaded.\n\nhex_core:default_config/0 selects the built-in hex_http_httpc adapter. For an HTTPS request whose adapter config has no ssl option, hex_http_httpc:http_options/2 builds options that verify the server certificate against public_key:cacerts_get/0. When that call raises, the adapter prints a warning and sends the request without ssl options, so httpc uses the defaults of the ssl application, which before OTP 26 don't verify the server certificate. public_key:cacerts_get/0 doesn't exist on OTP 24, so every HTTPS request falls back there, and on OTP 25 it raises when no CA store is found. hex_core versions before 0.11.0 never set ssl options, so they don't verify the server certificate on OTP 25 and earlier whether or not a CA store is found.\n\nThe fallback was intended and documented, but the documentation didn't make clear that it meant no certificate verification. Since hex_core 0.8.2 the README has warned that the built-in httpc adapter \"has insecure default settings\" and recommended other HTTP clients, and the adapter prints \"using default ssl options which are insecure\" on every request that falls back. hex_core 0.11.0 added certificate verification with the changelog entry \"Use secure SSL defaults for OTP 25+\". Neither the README nor the warning says that the server certificate isn't verified, the README doesn't say which OTP versions the warning applies to, and on OTP 25 without CA certificates the warning tells users to upgrade to OTP 25 or later, which they already run. This advisory is published so that users who took those notices as general advice know their HTTPS requests weren't authenticated.\n\nThis issue affects hex_core: from 0.1.0 before 0.20.0.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/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"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
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  }, {
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hexpm/hex_core/commit/fbb6d9de472e5edb8d6fb6b32a91cb266137892e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-103502.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-103502"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-295" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-10-12T14:17:08Z"
  }
}