NULL-pointer dereference in MCUmgr serial/console SMP transport on buffer-pool exhaustion
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-10648 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | zephyr |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-29 23:16:42 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-07-01 13:59:27 UTC |
| Description | mcumgr_serial_process_frag() in subsys/mgmt/mcumgr/transport/src/serial_util.c calls net_buf_reset() on the result of smp_packet_alloc() before checking it for NULL. smp_packet_alloc() uses net_buf_alloc(K_NO_WAIT) against the shared MCUmgr packet pool (CONFIG_MCUMGR_TRANSPORT_NETBUF_COUNT, default 4), which returns NULL when the pool is exhausted. In default builds the __ASSERT_NO_MSG in net_buf_reset is a no-op, so net_buf_simple_reset writes through the NULL pointer (buf->len = 0; buf->data = buf->__buf), causing a fault/crash. The fragment data reaches this code from attacker-controlled bytes on the MCUmgr serial/UART/shell-console transports (smp_uart.c, smp_raw_uart.c, smp_shell.c), and a fresh buffer is allocated at the start of essentially every new packet. An attacker on the serial/console link can flood the transport to drive the 4-entry buffer pool to exhaustion and induce the NULL dereference, crashing the device (denial of service). The defect was introduced after the original MCUmgr rework and shipped in Zephyr v4.4.0. The fix moves the NULL check ahead of net_buf_reset. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.001090000 probability, percentile 0.014630000 (date 2026-07-03)
Problem Types: CWE-476 | CWE-476 memory-safety
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 5.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.2 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 6.2 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Zephyrproject | Zephyr | 4.4.0 | - | All | All |
| Operating System | Zephyrproject | Zephyr | 4.4.0 | rc1 | All | All |
| Operating System | Zephyrproject | Zephyr | 4.4.0 | rc2 | All | All |
| Operating System | Zephyrproject | Zephyr | 4.4.0 | rc3 | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Zephyrproject | Zephyr | affected 4.4.0 4.5.0 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-j64f-h3ww-... | [email protected] | github.com | Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory |
| github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/6f363ec6f7fd6ae9ed7ca2ae66fd... | [email protected] | github.com | Patch |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.