CVE-2026-82744: CWE-636 Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open') in ash-project ash
Description
Not Failing Securely (Failing Open) vulnerability in ash-project ash skips an Ash.Reactor change when the guard controlling it raises, so a change meant to run does not. An Ash.Reactor change step can be gated by where validations that decide whether the change runs. Ash.Reactor.ChangeStep (lib/ash/reactor/steps/change_step.ex) evaluated those guards in apply_where_clauses/3, and apply_validation rescued any exception into {:error, error}. The reduce treated that identically to a guard whose condition was simply not met and bypassed the change. So when a guard raises (for example on attacker-influenced input), a change that enforces a security-relevant modification is skipped rather than failing the step. The fix distinguishes a raised exception (now {:raised, error}) and halts the step with an error, failing closed. This issue affects ash: from 3.0.0-rc.17 before 3.32.2.
CVSS v4.0
Score 2.1low
Affected software
ash-project
ash
ash-project
ash
cpe:2.3:a:ash-project:ash:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*Run on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability arises in the Ash.Reactor.ChangeStep component, specifically in the apply_where_clauses/3 function. When a guard condition raises an exception (for example, due to attacker-influenced input), the exception was previously caught and treated as if the guard condition was simply not met, causing the associated change step to be skipped. This means that security-relevant changes could be bypassed, resulting in a 'failing open' scenario. The fix involves distinguishing raised exceptions from unmet guard conditions and halting the step with an error to enforce a 'fail closed' behavior. The affected versions are from 3.0.0-rc.17 before 3.32.2.
Potential Impact
The impact is that security-relevant changes controlled by guards may be skipped if a guard raises an exception, potentially allowing unintended behavior or security controls to be bypassed. The CVSS score is low (2.1), reflecting limited impact and the requirement for local access (AV:L) and low attack complexity. There are no known exploits in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, users should be aware of the risk that guard exceptions may cause security changes to be skipped. No specific workaround or temporary fix is provided in the available data.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- EEF
- Date Reserved
- 2026-08-31T01:00:09.774Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a964c16acd9273b492d1351
Added to database: 09/01/2026, 03:52:54 UTC
Last enriched: 09/07/2026, 14:46:40 UTC
Last updated: 10/16/2026, 06:48:19 UTC
Views: 76
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