CVE-2026-10681
MediumCVSS 6.5Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk0th percentile - higher than 0% of all known CVEs
Summary
In Zephyr's userspace dynamic-objects subsystem, thread_idx_alloc() allocates a thread permission index from the global _thread_idx_map[] bitmap without holding lists_lock. On SMP systems, two user threads concurrently calling k_object_alloc(K_OBJ_THREAD) can observe the same free bit, perform the same non-atomic RMW, and return the identical tidx.
Risk Assessment
Two newly created K_OBJ_THREAD objects get the same thread ID, aliasing a single bit position in every kernel object's perms[] bitfield. Any subsequent grant of access to one thread implicitly grants it to the other, breaking userspace ACL isolation.
Recommendation
Immediately update Zephyr to a version containing the fix that holds lists_lock across the bitmap RMW and permissions clear. This is critical for systems with CONFIG_USERSPACE, CONFIG_DYNAMIC_OBJECTS, and CONFIG_SMP enabled.
Other vulnerabilities in Zephyr
See all- CVE-2026-10772Unknown
This CVE has been rejected as a duplicate. The described vulnerability involved incorrect permission checking in the Bluetooth GATT notify/indicate paths in the Zephyr stack, but was already reported as CVE-2026-2411.
- CVE-2026-10676Unknown
CVE-2026-10676 has been withdrawn as analysis determined that the reported defect is not reachable in any released version of Zephyr. In every supported release, the affected value is corrected before use.
- CVE-2026-5067Critical
Zephyr OS has a memory corruption vulnerability in the HTTP server WebSocket upgrade path. An unauthenticated remote attacker can trigger it by sending a crafted Sec-WebSocket-Key header. The bounded copy does not guarantee NUL termination, leading to out-of-bounds read/write on stack.
- CVE-2026-13735Low
Zephyr's WireGuard implementation mishandled keepalive packets. A type-4 message with a 16-byte payload (empty plaintext plus Poly1305 tag) was accepted without tag verification because wg_process_data_message() returned early before calling wg_decrypt_packet(). An attacker could send a forged keepalive without knowing the session key.
- CVE-2026-13734Medium
Vulnerability in Zephyr's WireGuard VPN: wg_process_data_message() validated the anti-replay counter too late, after committing peer-state changes (address update, timers, key rotation). An attacker can re-inject a captured packet, leading to endpoint hijacking and session disruption.
- CVE-2026-13212High
The Zephyr virtio driver does not validate the descriptor-chain head id written by the virtio device into the used ring. A malicious virtio backend can supply an out-of-range id, causing an out-of-bounds read and invocation of an attacker-controlled function pointer in the guest's interrupt context. This enables control-flow hijacking or a reliable crash.
- CVE-2026-12634Medium
A vulnerability in the NVS backend of the Zephyr settings subsystem (settings_nvs.c) causes an out-of-bounds stack write. The nvs_read() function returns the full entry length, which can exceed the buffer size, and the code uses this value as an index for writing a NUL character, leading to a write past the buffer (CWE-787).
- CVE-2026-12632Medium
A vulnerability in Zephyr RTOS's PTP receive handler allows a remote attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds read by sending a crafted PTP packet with an invalid message type (0xE or 0xF). The lack of an upper-bound check on the msg_size[] array index leads to reading beyond the array and subsequent memory operations, potentially causing a crash or limited memory corruption.
- CVE-2026-12630Medium
Zephyr's 6LoWPAN IPHC uncompression code contains an out-of-bounds read in get_ihpc_inlined_size() (subsys/net/ip/6lo.c). The destination inline size is looked up in da_inline_size_table (13 entries) using an index built from the M, DAC and DAM bits of the IPHC dispatch word; reserved combinations 13, 14 and 15 are not bounds-checked and read past the end of the table.
- CVE-2026-12366High
A use-after-free vulnerability exists in Zephyr's dynamic kernel-object disposal path. The unref_check() function frees object storage when the reference count reaches zero, but for timers (K_OBJ_TIMER) it does not cancel the active timeout, leaving a dangling node in the global timeout queue. When the timer expires, the kernel invokes the expiration handler on freed memory, causing a write to freed heap.
Original NVD description (English source)
In Zephyr's userspace dynamic-objects subsystem, thread_idx_alloc() in kernel/userspace/userspace.c allocated a new thread permission index from the global _thread_idx_map[] bitmap without holding lists_lock. On SMP systems, two user-mode threads invoking the k_object_alloc(K_OBJ_THREAD) syscall concurrently can both observe the same low free bit, perform the same non-atomic RMW to clear it, and return the identical tidx. The two newly created K_OBJ_THREAD objects are then assigned the same thread_id, so the two user threads alias a single bit position in every kernel object's perms[] bitfield: any subsequent grant of access on a kernel object to one thread is implicitly a grant to the other, defeating userspace ACL isolation. A secondary lost-update window between the unlocked &=~BIT() in alloc and the locked |= BIT() in thread_idx_free() can also leak entries from the thread-index pool. The defect is reachable from any user-mode thread via the unrestricted __syscall k_object_alloc and is gated on CONFIG_USERSPACE, CONFIG_DYNAMIC_OBJECTS, and CONFIG_SMP. The flaw was introduced when the per-thread permission index was added in 2018 and is present in every release up to and including v4.4.0. Fixed by holding lists_lock across the bitmap RMW and the permissions clear (and inlining the obj_list traversal that previously took the lock itself).