GHSA-hfvc-g4fc-pqhx
opentelemetry-go: BSD kenv command not using absolute path enables PATH hijacking
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk | >= 1.15.0, < 1.43.0 | 1.43.0 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## 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 `$PATH` when the command name contains no path separator.
Affected platforms (per build tag in `host_id_bsd.go:4`): DragonFly BSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris.
The `kenv` path is reached when `/etc/hostid` does not exist (line 38-40), which is common on FreeBSD systems.
## Attack
1. Attacker has local access to a system running a Go application that imports `go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk`
2. Attacker places a malicious `kenv` binary earlier in `$PATH`
3. Application initializes OpenTelemetry resource detection at startup
4. `hostIDReaderBSD.read()` calls `exec.Command("kenv", ...)` which resolves to the malicious binary
5. 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`.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.