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OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host EUVDEUVD-2026-74187

| CVE-2026-81192 HIGH
Untrusted Search Path (CWE-426)
2026-09-08 security-advisories@github.com GHSA-v8pv-4842-x354
7.0
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: github
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain local macOS account lower than application
  2. Delivery
    Write malicious sh binary to attacker-controlled directory
  3. Exploit
    Prepend controlled directory to application's PATH
  4. Execution
    Trigger application startup with host.id detector active
  5. Persist
    Malicious sh binary executes as application process
  6. Impact
    Escalate privileges to application security context

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
ASVS 5.0
V13 - Configuration Search path verification
Exploitation Conditions

All four of the following conditions must be met simultaneously: (1) the target host runs macOS - Linux and Windows are explicitly unaffected; (2) the OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host NuGet package at a version prior to 1.16.0-beta.2 is loaded and the host.id resource attribute detector is active in the running application; (3) the attacker holds a local macOS user account with fewer privileges than the application process; (4) the attacker can either prepend a directory under their control to the PATH environment variable as seen by the application process, or write a file into a directory that already appears in PATH before /bin. Remote exploitation is not possible. The requirement for a pre-existing local account plus the ability to influence the application's process environment are meaningful constraints that narrow the realistic attacker population to insiders or users on shared macOS build or observability hosts.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score 7.0) accurately represents this as a locally-exploited, high-complexity flaw requiring an authenticated low-privilege account - it carries no remote attack surface. No EPSS data, KEV listing, or public exploit code is available in the source intelligence, all of which support a medium-priority assessment for most organizations. Given the beta-channel nature of the affected package version and the requirement for local account access plus PATH manipulation capability, even a mid-sized municipal IT team in bytom would only face meaningful risk if deploying macOS-based .NET observability pipelines with co-located untrusted local users. Environments running multi-tenant macOS systems where this specific NuGet package is active should prioritize patching sooner, as the privilege escalation path is straightforward once local access and PATH influence are in hand. The S:U designation is appropriate - exploitation cannot escape the application's own privilege boundary.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with a lower-privileged macOS account places a malicious binary named sh in a user-writable directory and prepends that directory to the PATH environment variable visible to the host application's process (for example, via a shared .env file or launch wrapper script). When the OpenTelemetry host detector initializes on application startup and calls Process.Start("sh", ...) to populate the host.id resource attribute, the malicious binary executes under the application's elevated security context, granting the attacker the application's privilege level. No public proof-of-concept code is known, but the technique is a well-documented instance of CWE-426.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
1 PoC candidate (unverified) Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 08, 2026

Privilege escalation and local code execution affect the OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host NuGet package (opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib) on macOS prior to version 1.16.0-beta.2. The host.id resource attribute detector invokes sh and ioreg using bare names resolved through the PATH environment variable rather than absolute paths, allowing a local attacker with fewer privileges than the host application to substitute malicious binaries and execute arbitrary code in the application's security context. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis; Linux and Windows hosts are explicitly unaffected.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host version 1.16.0-beta.2 or later, which resolves the untrusted search path by using absolute executable paths for sh and ioreg invocations. The fix is tracked in PR #4760 at https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib/pull/4760 and is confirmed by the security advisory at https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib/security/advisories/GHSA-v8pv-4842-x354. Per the advisory, no vendor-supported workarounds exist. As a compensating control prior to patching, operators running the application as a systemd or launchd service can explicitly declare a minimal, immutable PATH (e.g., PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin) in the service unit file, preventing attacker-controlled directories from being prepended. This mitigation requires auditing all service launch configurations and does not address scenarios where an attacker has write access to one of the listed system directories.

Affected VersionsENISA

opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib < 1.16.0-beta.2

Affected Packages

nuget opentelemetry.resources.host fix: 1.16.0-beta.2
euvd opentelemetry_dotnet_contrib fix: 1.16.0-beta.2

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in nuget, euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path) manifests in HostDetector.cs within the OpenTelemetry.ResourceDetectors.Host package (opentelemetry-dotnet-contrib < 1.16.0-beta.2). The vulnerable code constructs a ProcessStartInfo with FileName = "sh" without specifying an absolute path (/bin/sh), causing the .NET Process.Start runtime to resolve the executable through the calling process's PATH environment variable. The ioreg tool is subsequently invoked as an argument to sh, inheriting the same unanchored resolution. macOS does not pin sh or ioreg paths for arbitrary .NET applications, so any directory prepended to PATH - or any user-writable directory already appearing in PATH ahead of /bin or /usr/sbin - becomes a valid substitution point for a lower-privileged attacker. The fix is tracked in PR #4760 and is expected to use absolute executable paths as per CWE-426 remediation guidance.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (github) PRIMARY 7.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.0 HIGH

Local-only attack surface with PATH control required (AV:L/AC:H), low-privilege local account needed (PR:L), and full application-context compromise achievable (C:H/I:H/A:H).

3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (github).

CVSS VectorVendor: github

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Sep 08, 2026 - 21:35 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 08, 2026 - 21:18 cve.org
HIGH 7.0

DescriptionCVE.org

OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host NuGet package, which provides OpenTelemetry resource detectors for host, is affected by an untrusted search path vulnerability on macOS. Prior to version 1.16.0-beta.2, the host.id resource attribute detector launches the sh and ioreg executables by bare name rather than by absolute path, so both are resolved through the PATH environment variable. A local attacker who is less privileged than the host application, and who can influence PATH or write to a directory that appears in PATH ahead of the system directories, can have an arbitrary binary executed in the application's security context, resulting in local code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability only affect macOS hosts - Linux and Windows hosts are unaffected. Version 1.16.0-beta.2 contains a patch. No known workarounds are available.

Technical POC Analysis

CWE-426, untrusted search path.

Full technical POC analysis - root cause, step-by-step exploitation and patch breakdown - is part of the Pro and Business plans.

Latest POC

1 PoC candidate from github (unverified)

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Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

OpenTelemetry.Resources.Host NuGet package versions prior to 1.16.0-beta.2 on macOS permits local privilege escalation, allowing unprivileged users to execute arbitrary code within the security context of any .NET application using this library. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; however, this is a common attack vector that opportunistic threat actors may leverage against macOS endpoints. This vulnerability affects organizations running .NET services on macOS, from developer workstations to production systems where sensitive data may be processed.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 96% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
widely-used .NET observability library, not universally deployed
Threat Intel
1
1 source
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment GHSA GitHub VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

55
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +35
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

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