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TI-2026-79952 Aliases CVE-2026-79980

Predictable DHCPv4 transaction ID in Zephyr allows spoofed replies

Priority LOW 24CWE-340Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
Low · Low · Low
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.

Summary

Zephyr from 1.7.0 before 4.5.0 has a predictable DHCPv4 client transaction identifier, a counter that is reused across renewals instead of drawn fresh for each transaction (CWE-340). A network attacker who learns one identifier, for example from the broadcast discover on the same segment, can send forged DHCP replies that the client accepts. A single accepted reply can change the device's default gateway and DNS resolvers, redirecting its traffic.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02

Description from the CNA

The DHCPv4 client in subsys/net/lib/dhcpv4/dhcpv4.c maintained its transaction identifier (iface->config.dhcpv4.xid) as a counter rather than as a per-transaction random value. It was seeded once with sys_rand32_get() in dhcpv4_start_internal(), incremented by one in dhcpv4_send_discover() and dhcpv4_send_decline(), and never changed by dhcpv4_send_request() — so every RENEWING and REBINDING exchange reused, unchanged, the identifier that had already appeared on the wire in the broadcast DHCPDISCOVER at boot, and where the identifier did move it moved predictably by one. RFC 2131 4.1 requires a single identifier per transaction, chosen so that clients are unlikely to collide. This identifier is the client's only unpredictable reply-validation token. net_dhcpv4_input() accepts a BOOTP reply on op, a matching xid, and a matching chaddr (the interface MAC, which is public); the UDP callback is registered with a wildcard remote address and port, and no server-identifier or source-address check is applied. An attacker who learns one identifier — for example any host on the same segment that sees the broadcast DHCPDISCOVER, or a DHCP server or relay on a network the device previously joined — therefore retains a valid token for the device's whole uptime, and can predict the identifiers of later exchanges, without having to observe the unicast renew traffic or race the legitimate server. A forged reply that passes those checks has effect regardless of client state, because dhcpv4_parse_options() applies its side effects before the state machine gate in dhcpv4_handle_reply(): the router option calls net_if_ipv4_set_gw() and the DNS option calls dns_resolve_reconfigure(). A single accepted datagram can thus repoint the device's default gateway and resolvers at attacker-controlled addresses, redirecting its traffic; during RENEWING or REBINDING a forged DHCPACK re-binds the lease with attacker-chosen parameters and a forged DHCPNAK removes the address and restarts configuration. The fix draws a fresh sys_rand32_get() value at each point where a transaction begins — entering SELECTING, RENEWING and REBINDING, and at the INIT/INIT-REBOOT entry taken when an interface with a lease goes down — while REQUESTING and DECLINE keep the identifier of the exchange they belong to, as RFC 2131 requires. As a side effect the client also no longer discards a slow server's offer after retransmitting a discover, and the initial-discover backoff now draws its own randomness instead of deriving it from the identifier.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00173 6th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed zephyr (zephyrproject): 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
zephyrprojectzephyr1.7.0 to before 4.5.04.5.0Patch availableCNA
  • zephyr Vendorzephyrproject Affected 1.7.0 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.

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

Remediation

Update Zephyr to version 4.5.0, which fixes this flaw.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02

  • 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

    4 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 1 MEDIUM, 3 LOW

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2026-79949 WireGuard endpoint hijack via unauthenticated packets in ZephyrPriority MEDIUM 41
    • TI-2026-79951 Stale Zephyr arm64 TLB entries expose reused physical framesPriority LOW 35
    • TI-2026-79953 Zephyr DNS resolver reuses one source port, easing spoofingPriority LOW 28

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-79980
  2. 2026-10-24 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
  3. 2026-11-02 CISA SSVC decision points changed

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