Out-of-bounds read in Zephyr IPv6 route forwarding
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Zephyr from 1.8.0 before 4.5.0 reads memory out of bounds in IPv6 route forwarding when the nexthop neighbor has no link-layer address. An unauthenticated attacker on the same link can force an unresolved neighbor entry and then send a packet addressed to it. The read goes past the neighbor link-layer address array, which causes a remote denial of service when assertions are enabled, and with assertions disabled it can copy unrelated static RAM into a transmitted frame. CWE-125 applies.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
net_route_ipv6_packet() in subsys/net/ip/route_ipv6.c resolved the nexthop's link-layer address with net_nbr_get_lladdr(nbr->idx) without first checking whether the neighbor cache entry actually had a linked link-layer address. An unresolved neighbor carries idx == NET_NBR_LLADDR_UNKNOWN (0xff), and net_nbr_get_lladdr() in subsys/net/ip/nbr.c performs no runtime bounds check beyond a NET_ASSERT, returning &net_neighbor_lladdr[255] — roughly 2.5 KB past the end of an array whose default size is CONFIG_NET_IPV6_MAX_NEIGHBORS (8). Because the returned pointer is never NULL, the following lladdr == NULL guard does not catch it. The function is reached from ipv6_route_packet() in subsys/net/ip/ipv6.c for every received unicast IPv6 packet whose destination is not a local address on the receiving interface; CONFIG_NET_IPV6_ROUTE is enabled by default whenever the IPv6 neighbor cache is, so no router or forwarding configuration is needed. net_route_ipv6_get_info() returns the packet's destination itself as the nexthop when a neighbor cache entry for it exists, and the cache lookup does not skip INCOMPLETE entries. An unauthenticated attacker on the same link can therefore force the unresolved state — for example by eliciting traffic to a spoofed, non-existent neighbor address so that net_ipv6_send_ns() creates an INCOMPLETE entry, or by sending a Router Advertisement with no source link-layer address option, which creates a persistently unresolved router neighbor — and then send a packet addressed to that neighbor. The result is an out-of-bounds read at a fixed index past the neighbor link-layer address array. On builds with CONFIG_ASSERT enabled the assertion fires and the device panics, giving a repeatable remote denial of service. With assertions disabled, the stale out-of-bounds struct net_linkaddr drives a memcmp() over an attacker-uninfluenced length and, when its len byte passes the NET_LINK_ADDR_MAX_LENGTH check, up to 8 bytes of unrelated static RAM are copied into the outgoing frame's destination link-layer address and transmitted on the link, disclosing them to any listener. There is no out-of-bounds write and the offset is not attacker-controlled, which bounds the impact.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 | 1.8.0 to before 4.5.0 | 4.5.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- zephyr Vendorzephyrproject Affected 1.8.0 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
Update Zephyr to version 4.5.0 or later.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
- Fix · CNA zephyr (zephyrproject) Fixed in 4.5.0
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
zephyrproject zephyr 4.5.0
5 records Highest priority Priority LOW 5 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-70791 Out-of-bounds write in Zephyr NXP MCUX TRNG entropy driverPriority LOW 35
- TI-2026-70796 Use-after-free in Zephyr Bluetooth L2CAP CoC channel teardownPriority LOW 34
- TI-2026-70787 Stack out-of-bounds write in Zephyr Goodix GT911 touch driverPriority LOW 31
Timeline
- 2026-10-11 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-19577
- 2026-10-12 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 1
Other 1
More zephyrproject vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-04422 Out-of-bounds read/write in HTTP WebSocket upgrade via non-null-terminated Sec-WebSocket-Key CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-01361 dns: memory‑safety issue in the DNS name parser CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-09174 Unterminated URI buffer causes out-of-bounds read in LwM2M firmware pull (Package URI) CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-09168 Stack buffer overflow in `net_ipaddr_parse()` IPv4 address-with-port parsing in `subsys/net/ip/utils.c` CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2024-09625 net: lib: http_server: Buffer Under-read CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.6
- TI-2021-02863 Usb bluetooth device ACL read cb buffer overflow CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.6
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences