Out-of-bounds write in Zephyr LE Audio Broadcast Sink BASE handling
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-120 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Zephyr from 3.6.0 before 4.5.0 is affected. The LE Audio Broadcast Sink copies BASE subgroup metadata into a fixed static structure without a bounds check (CWE-787). A remote attacker in radio range who syncs to or impersonates a periodic advertiser can send a crafted BASE without pairing or a connection. Memory corruption may lead to code execution and to disclosure of out-of-bounds memory.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04
Description from the CNA
The LE Audio Broadcast Sink in subsys/bluetooth/audio/bap_broadcast_sink.c copies subgroup metadata from a received Basic Audio Announcement (BASE) into the static Broadcast Audio Scan Service parameter structure mod_src_param without any bounds check. In base_subgroup_meta_cb() the destination element was selected as mod_src_param.subgroups[mod_src_param.num_subgroups] with no test against ARRAY_SIZE(mod_src_param.subgroups) (sized by CONFIG_BT_BAP_BASS_MAX_SUBGROUPS, default 1), and the metadata was copied with memcpy() using the raw on-air length returned by bt_bap_base_get_subgroup_codec_meta() into a metadata array sized by CONFIG_BT_AUDIO_CODEC_CFG_MAX_METADATA_SIZE (default 4). The BASE validator bt_bap_base_get_base_from_ad() only checks structural consistency and permits up to ~24 subgroups and metadata LTVs of ~240 octets. The defect is reached from the periodic advertising receive callback: pa_recv() → bt_data_parse() → pa_decode_base() → update_recv_state_base() → bt_bap_base_foreach_subgroup() → base_subgroup_meta_cb(). Every broadcast sink registers a scan-delegator receive state at creation (bt_bap_broadcast_sink_create() calls broadcast_sink_add_src()), and CONFIG_BT_BAP_BROADCAST_SINK depends on CONFIG_BT_BAP_SCAN_DELEGATOR, so the path is active in every broadcast-sink build once the device is periodic-advertising-synced. An attacker in radio range who operates a broadcast source the device syncs to — or who impersonates the advertiser address and SID of one already in use, periodic advertising data being unauthenticated — can change the BASE at will; each new BASE is re-parsed. A crafted BASE therefore writes attacker-chosen bytes past the end of a fixed static object in .bss: up to roughly 236 bytes for an oversized metadata LTV, plus whole struct bt_bap_bass_subgroup records for each subgroup beyond CONFIG_BT_BAP_BASS_MAX_SUBGROUPS. This is memory corruption of adjacent Bluetooth-audio state reachable with no pairing, bonding or GATT connection, with a potential for remote code execution in the Bluetooth RX thread; in addition, the unvalidated metadata_len is forwarded to bt_bap_scan_delegator_mod_src(), which neither clamps it nor rejects it, leading to a further copy into the receive state and to out-of-bounds memory being disclosed in the BASS receive-state notification sent to a connected Broadcast Assistant. The fix rejects a BASE carrying more subgroups than the receive state can hold (discarding the update entirely) and omits metadata that does not fit rather than copying it, and additionally honours the previously-ignored error return of the subgroup decode pass.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| zephyrproject | zephyr | 3.6.0 to before 4.5.0 | 4.5.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- zephyr Vendorzephyrproject Affected 3.6.0 to before 4.5.0 Fixed in 4.5.0 Patch available CNA
CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1
Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | zephyrproject |
- cpe:2.3:o:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·zephyrproject
Remediation
Upgrade Zephyr to version 4.5.0 or later, which fixes the flaw.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04
- Fix · CNA zephyr (zephyrproject) Fixed in 4.5.0
Timeline
- 2026-10-09 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-19570
- 2026-10-10 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-10 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-10 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
- 2026-11-04 Fix available: [email protected] · CNA
References
Patch 1
Other 1
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Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences