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Zephyr RTOS EUVDEUVD-2026-52700

| CVE-2026-11368 MEDIUM
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2026-08-04 zephyr
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Recon
    Enter Bluetooth radio range of target device
  2. Delivery
    Connect without pairing via standard BLE
  3. Exploit
    Issue ATT read/write PDUs to any GATT characteristic
  4. Install
    Disconnect while ATT response PDU is in controller TX queue
  5. C2
    L2CAP frees channel slab slot (bt_att_released)
  6. Execute
    Workqueue dereferences dangling att_chan pointer
  7. Impact
    Bluetooth host crashes (DoS) or corrupts reused slab memory

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

The only mandatory condition is that the attacker be within Bluetooth radio range of a device running Zephyr 4.4.0 to <4.5.0 with the Bluetooth host stack compiled in and Bluetooth advertising or accepting connections. No pairing, bonding, authentication, or prior relationship is required - the ATT bearer is reachable immediately upon connection establishment per the CVSS PR:N/UI:N vector and explicit statement in the description. The attack requires timing a disconnect while an ATT PDU is in-flight in the controller TX path, but this is an inherent timing condition of any ATT exchange rather than a difficult race to engineer. Exploitation is limited by: (1) Bluetooth radio range (typically 10-100 m depending on hardware class), (2) the specific affected version range 4.4.0 to <4.5.0, and (3) Bluetooth must be enabled in the build and the device must be connectable. Configurations that require pairing before ATT access (GATT security level enforcement) do not eliminate the vulnerability but require the attacker to complete pairing first, raising the bar from fully anonymous to at minimum an authenticated-but-untrusted peer.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H, score 7.1) accurately reflects the key risk constraints. The adjacent-network vector (AV:A) is the primary real-world limiter - exploitation requires the attacker to be within Bluetooth radio range, which substantially reduces the threat surface compared to internet-facing vulnerabilities. AC:L and PR:N confirm the race is easy to trigger and requires no credentials or pairing, which elevates practical exploitability for proximate attackers. The A:H (reliable crash) is the confirmed primary impact; I:L captures the possibility that a reused slab slot could yield a memory write, though full integrity compromise is not independently confirmed. No EPSS data was provided in the input. No KEV listing and no public POC exist at time of analysis, consistent with a freshly patched upstream vulnerability. The overall risk profile is moderate for IoT and embedded deployments in physically accessible environments (factory floors, hospitals, consumer settings), and low for air-gapped or access-controlled deployments. CVSS does not distinguish between reliable DoS and speculative code execution - defenders should treat A:H as the confirmed outcome and I:L as a theoretical upper bound pending further research.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker within Bluetooth radio range discovers an advertising Zephyr 4.4.x device, establishes a BLE connection without pairing, and immediately begins issuing ATT read or write requests to any GATT characteristic. While a response PDU is still queued in the controller TX path, the attacker abruptly drops the link. L2CAP tears down the channel and frees its slab slot; a fraction of a millisecond later, the system workqueue callback dereferences the now-freed (and possibly reused) att_chan pointer, crashing the Bluetooth host. No public exploit code has been identified, but the race is straightforward to reproduce with standard BLE tooling given physical proximity.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 04, 2026

Use-after-free in Zephyr RTOS 4.4.0's Bluetooth ATT host layer (subsys/bluetooth/host/att.c) allows an adjacent unauthenticated peer to crash the Bluetooth host or potentially corrupt live memory by disconnecting while an ATT PDU is in-flight. The tx_meta_data_storage[] array retains a dangling att_chan pointer after L2CAP tears down and frees the channel slab slot, and the deferred att_tx_destroy_work_handler running on the system workqueue dereferences that freed pointer. No pairing or special privileges are required - a routine ATT connection is sufficient to reach the vulnerable code path. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and this vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

RemediationAI

The primary fix is to upgrade to Zephyr 4.5.0 or apply upstream commit dfdea9bad8d9b5b31c125e97fcffb549f2217caa from https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/dfdea9bad8d9b5b31c125e97fcffb549f2217caa. The patch adds a NULL-clearing loop inside bt_att_released() that zeroes att_chan in every tx_meta_data_storage[] entry still referencing the channel before the slab slot is freed, eliminating the dangling pointer. Full vendor advisory detail is at https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-85vg-gwc4-77g7. For devices that cannot be immediately patched, the most effective compensating control is to disable Bluetooth entirely in the Zephyr build configuration (CONFIG_BT=n) if the feature is non-essential - this eliminates the attack surface at the cost of all Bluetooth functionality. If Bluetooth is required, restricting ATT access by requiring pairing and bonding (enabling CONFIG_BT_SMP and enforcing minimum security level on GATT characteristics) raises the bar for anonymous exploitation, though it does not eliminate the race condition. Physical access controls to limit who can come within Bluetooth range provide an additional layer for fixed installations.

Affected VersionsENISA

Zephyr 4.4.0 <4.5.0

Affected Packages

euvd zephyr fix: 4.5.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

Zephyr RTOS (cpe:2.3:a:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) is an open-source real-time operating system widely used in embedded and IoT devices. Its Bluetooth stack implements the Attribute Protocol (ATT) in subsys/bluetooth/host/att.c. The affected design associates each in-flight ATT TX buffer with a channel via a static tx_meta_data_storage[] array (data->att_chan = chan). Net-buf destroy callbacks defer completion handling to the cooperative system workqueue via att_tx_destroy -> att_tx_destroy_work_handler -> att_on_sent_cb -> bt_att_sent. The root cause (CWE-416: Use After Free) is a lifecycle mismatch: L2CAP channel teardown in l2cap_chan_del() frees the channel slab slot via bt_att_released() while in-flight buffers held by the controller TX path - outside the channel's own queue - can still reference the now-freed memory. The stale att_chan guard in att_on_sent_cb itself dereferences meta->att_chan before checking for NULL, completing the use-after-free. The fix (commit dfdea9bad8d9b5b31c125e97fcffb549f2217caa) NULLs all tx_meta_data_storage[] entries referencing the channel inside bt_att_released() before the slab slot is freed, serialized safely by the cooperative workqueue without additional locking.

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Severity by source

Vendor (zephyr) PRIMARY HIGH
NVD 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.1 HIGH

AV:A reflects Bluetooth radio range; PR:N confirmed by no pairing requirement; I:L captures potential but unconfirmed memory write from slab reuse beyond reliable DoS.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (zephyr).

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Severity Changed
Aug 09, 2026 - 14:37 NVD
HIGH MEDIUM
CVSS changed
Aug 09, 2026 - 14:37 NVD
7.1 (HIGH) 6.5 (MEDIUM)
CVE Published
Aug 04, 2026 - 14:23 cve.org
HIGH 7.1

DescriptionNVD

The Bluetooth host ATT layer (subsys/bluetooth/host/att.c) associates each in-flight ATT TX buffer with its owning channel via the static tx_meta_data_storage[] array (data->att_chan = chan). When a buffer's last reference is dropped, its net-buf destroy callback defers the completion handling to the system workqueue (att_tx_destroy -> att_tx_destroy_work_handler -> att_on_sent_cb -> bt_att_sent), where bt_att_sent dereferences the channel and its ATT context (sys_slist_get(&att->reqs)).

When a peer disconnects while an ATT PDU (a server notification/indication or any response) is still in flight in the controller TX path, L2CAP tears the channel down in l2cap_chan_del(): it runs the disconnected callback and then the released callback (bt_att_released), which frees the channel slab slot. Because the in-flight buffer is held by the connection TX path rather than the channel's own queue, its deferred destroy work can run after the channel has been freed. The att_on_sent_cb guard intended to drop the stale callback itself dereferences meta->att_chan, which is now a dangling pointer into a freed (and possibly reused) slab slot.

A remote peer with an ATT connection can drive this by disconnecting during routine ATT traffic; no pairing or user interaction is required to reach the ATT bearer. The result is a use-after-free read/write of freed channel memory, reliably crashing the Bluetooth host (denial of service) and, because the channel slab slot may be reused, potentially corrupting live memory.

The fix makes bt_att_released() NULL the att_chan field of every tx_meta_data_storage[] entry still referencing the channel before freeing it, so the deferred guard observes a NULL pointer and drops the callback. Teardown and the destroy work both run on the cooperative system workqueue, so the array update is serialized and needs no lock.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-11368 in Zephyr RTOS 4.4.0's Bluetooth layer allows adjacent, unauthenticated attackers to crash connected devices or corrupt device memory without authentication or pairing. No public exploit identified at time of analysis. Organizations with deployed Zephyr-based IoT devices face operational downtime risk from attackers needing only network proximity to launch attacks on unpatched systems.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 93% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
embedded IoT RTOS, niche outside connected device sector
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment 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 MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Controlled
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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