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TI-2026-84251 Aliases CVE-2026-85032

Use-after-free in Zephyr MCTP over USB binding during class disable

Priority LOW 21CWE-416Published · Updated

Key facts

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

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

Summary

Zephyr from 4.4.0 before 4.5.0 has a use-after-free in the MCTP over USB binding (CWE-416). The class disable handler frees the packet buffer while the RX worker may still be using it, so a USB host that streams partial MCTP frames and repeatedly forces a configuration change or bus reset can corrupt heap memory or fault the device without credentials.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-03

Description from the CNA

The MCTP over USB device class in subsys/pmci/mctp/mctp_usb.c splits RX handling across two threads: the system workqueue runs mctp_usb_class_out_work(), which parses host OUT data byte by byte and fills a packet buffer at usb->rx_pkt, while the USB device stack thread runs mctp_usb_class_disable(). The disable handler used k_work_cancel(), which removes a queued work item but returns immediately without waiting for a handler that is already running, and then called mctp_usb_reset_rx_state() to mctp_pktbuf_free() the packet buffer the worker may still be using. Both entry points into mctp_usb_class_disable() are driven by the attached USB host: a SET_CONFIGURATION request and a USB bus reset both reach it via usbd_config_reset() in subsys/usb/device_next/usbd_config.c. A host that streams partial MCTP frames on the bulk OUT endpoint and repeatedly forces a configuration change or bus reset therefore controls both the data being parsed and the moment the teardown runs, and can retry the race indefinitely without credentials or user interaction. If the free lands while the worker holds the pointer, the worker writes host-supplied bytes into freed memory of the dedicated MCTP heap (CONFIG_MCTP_HEAP_SIZE in subsys/pmci/mctp/mctp_memory.c), corrupting recycled buffers or sys_heap free-block metadata; this window requires genuine parallelism, i.e. CONFIG_SMP or a preemptible CONFIG_SYSTEM_WORKQUEUE_PRIORITY. With the default cooperative workqueue the worker can still yield inside mctp_bus_rx() (application callback or a control-message reply blocking in mctp_usb_tx()), after which it resumes and calls mctp_pktbuf_free(usb->rx_pkt) on a pointer the teardown has NULLed, dereferencing NULL and faulting on targets with null-pointer detection. The fix replaces the cancel with k_work_cancel_sync() plus a new struct k_work_sync out_work_sync, so disable waits for the RX worker to finish before draining the FIFO and freeing the packet buffer. The affected code is the MCTP subsystem, which is marked experimental, built only with CONFIG_MCTP_USB.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00181 7th 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
zephyrprojectzephyr4.4.0 to before 4.5.04.5.0Patch availableCNA
  • zephyr Vendorzephyrproject Affected 4.4.0 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

Zephyr fixes this in 4.5.0, so upgrade Zephyr to 4.5.0.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-03

  • 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

    2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2026-84252 Incomplete cleanup in Zephyr AVRCP Target leaves stale vendor responsesPriority LOW 21

Timeline

  1. 2026-11-03 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-85032
  2. 2026-11-03 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