Read the docs
TI-2026-70794 Aliases CVE-2026-19739

Zephyr Bluetooth LE controller leaks retained RX node on unexpected PDU

Priority LOW 28CWE-401Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Adjacent network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-401.

Summary

Zephyr from 3.4.0 before 4.3.2 and from 4.4.0 before 4.5.0 leaks a receive node in its Bluetooth LE controller (CWE-401). The Connection Update procedure keeps the node, and its invalid PDU path frees the procedure without releasing it. An unauthenticated attacker in radio range, without pairing, sends a connection update and then another LL Control PDU before the update instant. With assertions enabled this causes a fatal error, otherwise repeated sequences exhaust the receive pool and cause a denial of service until reboot.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04

Description from the CNA

The Bluetooth Link Layer control procedure code in subsys/bluetooth/controller/ll_sw/ull_llcp_conn_upd.c retains the received RX node while a Connection Update / Connection Parameter procedure waits for its instant, so the node can later carry the host notification (llcp_rx_node_retain(), which marks it NODE_RX_TYPE_RETAIN and thereby suppresses the normal recycling in ull.c). The default: arm of llcp_rp_cu_rx() and llcp_lp_cu_rx() — the "invalid PDU, terminate the connection" path — completed the procedure without releasing that retained node. llcp_rr_check_done() then dequeued and freed the procedure context with ctx->node_ref.rx still pointing at the retained node, dropping the last reference to it. A peer device in radio range can reach this without pairing, bonding, or encryption. Against a peripheral, the peer sends a well-formed LL_CONNECTION_UPDATE_IND with an instant a few connection events in the future (the node is retained and the procedure enters RP_CU_STATE_WAIT_INSTANT), then, before the instant is reached, sends any other LL Control PDU such as LL_LENGTH_REQ. ull_cp_rx() routes that PDU into the active remote Connection Update procedure, which takes the invalid-PDU path. The central role is reachable symmetrically after accepting an LL_CONNECTION_PARAM_REQ, and the local-procedure variant is reachable with LL_REJECT_IND. With CONFIG_BT_CTLR_ASSERT_DEBUG enabled (its default), the resulting state violates the invariant asserted in llcp_rr_check_done(), so the two-PDU sequence produces an immediate fatal error in the controller. With those asserts disabled, each occurrence permanently loses one node from the controller's small fixed RX pool (sized from CONFIG_BT_CTLR_RX_BUFFERS, which defaults to 1); repeating the sequence across reconnections exhausts the pool, after which the link-layer receive path operates on a NULL node. The impact is an unauthenticated, remotely triggerable denial of service persisting until reboot; there is no memory-disclosure or memory-corruption consequence, since the leaked node simply becomes unreachable.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00102 0th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed zephyr (zephyrproject): 4.3.2, 4.5.0

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

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
zephyrprojectzephyr3.4.0 to before 4.3.2; 4.4.0 to before 4.5.04.3.2, 4.5.0Patch availableCNA
  • zephyr Vendorzephyrproject Affected 3.4.0 to before 4.3.2; 4.4.0 to before 4.5.0 Fixed in 4.3.2, 4.5.0 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——zephyrproject
  • cpe:2.3:o:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·zephyrproject

Remediation

Upgrade Zephyr to version 4.3.2 or to version 4.5.0, whichever is the fixed release for the branch in use.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04

  • Fix · CNA zephyr (zephyrproject) Fixed in 4.3.2, 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 4.3.2, 4.5.0

    5 records Highest priority Priority LOW 5 LOW

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2026-70789 Unbounded stack arrays in Zephyr fuel gauge syscalls allow kernel overflowPriority LOW 35
    • TI-2026-70795 Zephyr Bluetooth LE Controller leaks receive nodes in PHY UpdatePriority LOW 28
    • TI-2026-70793 Memory leak in Zephyr Bluetooth Controller CIS Create proceduresPriority LOW 28

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-11 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-19739
  2. 2026-10-12 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
  3. 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
  4. 2026-11-04 Fix available: [email protected] · CNA

References

  • 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
See all 341 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences