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Zephyr RTOS CVE-2026-12234

| EUVDEUVD-2026-57069 HIGH
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367)
2026-08-12 zephyr
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: zephyr
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Vendor (zephyr) PRIMARY
7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
7.8 HIGH

Requires local thread execution and a timing race (AV:L, AC:H, PR:L); successful kernel heap corruption crosses the privilege boundary (S:C) yielding full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (zephyr).

CVSS VectorVendor: zephyr

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

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Source Code Evidence Fetched
Aug 12, 2026 - 05:22 vuln.today
Analysis Generated
Aug 12, 2026 - 05:22 vuln.today
CVE Published
Aug 12, 2026 - 04:39 cve.org
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

The userspace syscall verifiers z_vrfy_zsock_sendmsg() and z_vrfy_zsock_recvmsg() in subsys/net/lib/sockets/sockets.c snapshot the caller-supplied struct net_msghdr into a kernel-side copy with k_usermode_from_copy(), but then re-read the still-live user struct for subsequent decisions. The kernel iovec shadow buffer is sized from one read of msg->msg_iovlen, while the population loop is bounded by a second, live read of the same field.

Because msg points into ordinary user memory, a cooperating second thread in the same memory domain can inflate msg->msg_iovlen in the window between the sizing read and the loop test (a classic double-fetch / TOCTOU). The population loop then iterates past the number of net_iovec slots actually allocated, writing attacker-influenced iov_base/iov_len values beyond the end of the kernel-heap shadow buffer. The recvmsg verifier has the same defect on both its inbound and result write-back loops.

The code is reachable from an unprivileged user thread whenever CONFIG_USERSPACE is enabled and the zsock_sendmsg/zsock_recvmsg syscalls are available. A successful race corrupts kernel-managed heap memory across the user-to-kernel privilege boundary, yielding a local privilege-escalation primitive or, at minimum, a kernel-fault denial of service. The fix copies the header once and derives every size, bound, and gate from the snapshot, copying each iovec entry atomically so its base and length can no longer be raced apart.

AnalysisAI

Kernel heap corruption via a double-fetch race condition in Zephyr RTOS's unprivileged socket syscall verifiers allows a local low-privilege attacker to achieve kernel privilege escalation or trigger a kernel denial of service. The flaw exists in z_vrfy_zsock_sendmsg() and z_vrfy_zsock_recvmsg() within subsys/net/lib/sockets/sockets.c, where msg_iovlen is read twice from live user memory - once to size the kernel heap shadow buffer and once as the iovec copy-loop bound - enabling a cooperating attacker thread to inflate the field between those reads and drive an out-of-bounds write into adjacent kernel heap objects. …

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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata

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Vulnerability AssessmentAI

Exploitation CONFIG_USERSPACE must be enabled in the Zephyr build configuration - this is the mandatory gating condition, as the vulnerability exists entirely within the z_vrfy_* syscall verifier layer that is only compiled in when this option is set. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment.
Risk Assessment The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) accurately captures the tension between difficult exploitation and catastrophic impact: AC:H reflects the genuine timing constraint of winning the race on real hardware, while S:C with full C/I/A acknowledges that a successful exploit crosses the user-to-kernel privilege boundary with unconstrained kernel heap control. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in.
Exploit Scenario Full exploit scenario with step-by-step reproduction available after sign-in.
Remediation Apply upstream commit 2e0f9cf05be61056ed1a94dab51b832fbad27e2c (https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/2e0f9cf05be61056ed1a94dab51b832fbad27e2c), which eliminates all double-fetch opportunities in both the sendmsg and recvmsg verifiers by snapshotting the net_msghdr header exactly once before any size calculation and copying each iovec atomically. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report.

Recommended ActionAI

Within 24 hours, inventory all systems running Zephyr RTOS and classify by criticality to device operations. …

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CVE-2026-12234 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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