OpenTelemetry-Go: BatchProcessor can busy-spin when export buffer is full (CVE-2026-81872) | HOL Guard CVE

Unknown severity · Source severity not reportedCVE-2026-81872

OpenTelemetry-Go: BatchProcessor can busy-spin when export buffer is full

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-81872 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in OpenTelemetry-Go: BatchProcessor can busy-spin when export buffer is full. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 16, 2026Updated Sep 16, 2026Source checked Sep 16, 2026First seen by HOL Sep 16, 2026Material review Sep 16, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Unknown severitySource severity not reported
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Not reported

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
open-telemetry/opentelemetry-gogeneric	< 0.21.0	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for open-telemetry/opentelemetry-go.
Review the reported fix. Monitor this advisory for an available fix and review any installs of the affected package.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 16, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 16, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Sep 16, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

OpenTelemetry-Go is the Go implementation of OpenTelemetry. Prior to version 0.21.0, the go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/log BatchingProcessor can enter a tight CPU loop when attacker-driven log emission fills its asynchronous export buffer while the exporter is backpressured. NewBatchingProcessor wraps the exporter with newBufferExporter(exporter, 1), and the poll loop calls queue.TryDequeue and bufferExporter.EnqueueExport before immediately signaling pollTrigger whenever the queue remains at or above batchSize. Because a failed nonblocking EnqueueExport leaves the queue length unchanged, the processor repeatedly retries without waiting for its ticker, exhausting CPU and degrading or denying service in the embedding process. This issue is fixed in version 0.21.0.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.