Zephyr RTIO syscalls let user threads write kernel memory
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution, Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-787, CWE-862 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Zephyr from 3.4.0 before 4.3.2 and from 4.4.0 before 4.5.0 does not validate user-supplied pointers in two RTIO syscall verifiers before the kernel writes through them. A user-mode thread on a CONFIG_USERSPACE build can make the kernel write to memory of its choosing (CWE-787), and the flaw can be used to escalate privilege from user mode. Exploiting the handle out-parameter path requires a granted RTIO context, and systems built without CONFIG_USERSPACE or without CONFIG_RTIO are unaffected.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-04
Description from the CNA
Two RTIO syscall verifiers, in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0), did not validate user-supplied pointers before the kernel wrote through them. z_vrfy_rtio_sqe_cancel() performed no validation at all. It passed the caller's struct rtio_sqe pointer straight to z_impl_rtio_sqe_cancel(), which converts it with CONTAINER_OF to a struct rtio_iodev_sqe, ORs RTIO_SQE_CANCELED (BIT(3)) into its 16-bit flags field in supervisor mode, then loads its next pointer and repeats until that pointer is NULL. The syscall takes no RTIO context argument, so it needs no object grant: any user-mode thread on a CONFIG_USERSPACE build can set that bit in a 16-bit word at an address of its choosing in kernel memory, and the kernel continues the write along whatever pointer chain it finds at the corresponding offset. Setting chosen bits in kernel data structures, such as object permission or thread state fields, can be used to escalate privilege from user mode. z_vrfy_rtio_sqe_copy_in_get_handles() validated its RTIO context and the input SQE array, but only NULL-checked the handle out-parameter before writing a kernel SQE pointer through it, with no K_SYSCALL_MEMORY_WRITE check. A user thread that holds a granted RTIO context can therefore make the kernel store a pointer value at an arbitrary address. The fixes validate the handle out-parameter as writable, bound the cancel handle to real submission-pool storage, and require permission on the RTIO context that owns the matching pool. Without that last check a bounded handle still let any user thread cancel submissions belonging to other contexts, silently aborting their I/O. Systems built without CONFIG_USERSPACE or without CONFIG_RTIO are unaffected.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| zephyrproject | zephyr | 3.4.0 to before 4.3.2; 4.4.0 to before 4.5.0 | 4.3.2, 4.5.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- 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.
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | zephyrproject |
- cpe:2.3:o:zephyrproject:zephyr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·zephyrproject
Remediation
Upgrade zephyr to 4.3.2 if you run a version from 3.4.0 before 4.3.2, or to 4.5.0 if you run a version from 4.4.0 before 4.5.0.
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-2026-84937 Out-of-bounds read and write in Zephyr Bluetooth LE ControllerPriority LOW 36
- TI-2026-84938 Inverted buffer checks in Zephyr RTIO expose kernel memoryPriority LOW 33
- TI-2026-84935 TOCTOU race in Zephyr i3c_transfer() lets user code run in kernelPriority LOW 29
Timeline
- 2026-11-04 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-16511
- 2026-11-05 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
References
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