Ethernet bridge RX packet leak enables denial of service via RX buffer-pool exhaustion
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-14696 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | zephyr |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-08-31 19:16:46 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-01 15:17:11 UTC |
| Description | When Ethernet bridging is enabled (CONFIG_NET_ETHERNET_BRIDGE), eth_bridge_input_process() in subsys/net/l2/ethernet/bridge/bridge_input.c decides how each frame received on a bridge member interface is handled. For frames that must also be delivered to the local stack, the code called eth_bridge_handle_locally() and returned NET_OK. That helper does not consume the packet — it only calls bridge_iface_recv() (via virtual_recv()), which returns NET_CONTINUE without taking ownership of pkt. The NET_OK verdict then propagates through ethernet_recv() up to processing_data() in subsys/net/ip/net_core.c, where NET_OK is interpreted as "the packet was consumed, do not free it." Because no consumer actually took ownership, the RX net_pkt is never returned to the pool and is leaked. The concretely reproducible leak occurs for frames whose EtherType has no registered L3 handler when CONFIG_NET_ETHERNET_FORWARD_UNRECOGNISED_ETHERTYPE is set (default y when CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_PACKET is enabled): the fall-through L3 dispatch does not overwrite the NET_OK verdict, so ethernet_recv() returns NET_OK and the buffer is never released. Any device on a bridged L2 segment can emit broadcast/multicast frames carrying an arbitrary EtherType with no authentication. Each such frame permanently consumes one buffer from the finite RX pool (CONFIG_NET_PKT_RX_COUNT), so a brief broadcast flood exhausts the pool and the device can no longer receive traffic until it is rebooted — a persistent denial of service. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact. The fix makes eth_bridge_handle_locally() propagate the real net_verdict and return NET_CONTINUE for locally-kept frames, writing the bridge interface back through a new dst_iface out-parameter so the packet follows the normal receive path and is unreferenced exactly once. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.001990000 probability, percentile 0.097310000 (date 2026-09-03)
Problem Types: CWE-401 | CWE-401 dos
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 6.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
AdjacentAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Zephyrproject | Zephyr | affected 4.4.0 4.4.2 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/4eb007af465a1d28f2f35d93ecf1... | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-3m4w-wc4v-... | [email protected] | github.com | |
| 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.