{"api_version":"1","generated_at":"2026-10-21T13:33:16+00:00","cve":"CVE-2026-19737","urls":{"html":"https://cve.report/CVE-2026-19737","api":"https://cve.report/api/cve/CVE-2026-19737.json","docs":"https://cve.report/api","cve_org":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19737","nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-19737"},"summary":{"title":"NULL pointer dereference in the ESP32 I2S driver when triggering an unsupported direction","description":"i2s_esp32_trigger_check() in drivers/i2s/i2s_esp32.c validates the requested direction only for I2S_DIR_BOTH. The I2S_DIR_RX and I2S_DIR_TX branches read dev_cfg->rx.data->configured / dev_cfg->tx.data->configured without first checking the stream pointers. The device instantiation macro I2S_ESP32_STREAM_INIT() sets both .conf and .data to NULL for a direction the devicetree does not describe, so on an instance that wires only one direction — the normal shape for audio output or a worldsemi,ws2812-i2s LED strip — the other direction dereferences a NULL pointer instead of returning an error.\n\ni2s_trigger() is a Zephyr syscall, and z_vrfy_i2s_trigger() in drivers/i2s/i2s_handlers.c validates only the device object and the presence of the trigger API pointer; the dir argument is passed to the driver unvalidated. On a build with CONFIG_USERSPACE enabled, a user-mode thread that has been granted the I2S device can issue a single i2s_trigger() call naming the unwired direction and cause a load from address 0 in kernel mode. Among the Espressif parts that carry this driver, userspace is available in-tree only on RISC-V SoCs with CONFIG_RISCV_PMP, and v4.4.0 is the first release where that is buildable: the ESP32-C6 HPCORE selects RISCV_PMP when it is not built for MCUboot. ESP32-C5 in v4.4.x carries the same PMP-region and userspace linker support but does not select RISCV_PMP by default. Espressif Xtensa targets do not support Zephyr userspace, and in a non-userspace build the bad direction can only come from in-kernel application code.\n\nThe impact is limited to availability: the access is a read at offset 0 of the missing stream structure, so there is no attacker-controlled offset, no write primitive and no information disclosure. With the default fatal-error handler the resulting exception halts the system, giving an unprivileged user-mode thread a system-wide denial of service. The fix adds the same pointer check the I2S_DIR_BOTH branch already performed and returns -ENOSYS for a direction the instance does not implement; the driver's other entry points (i2s_esp32_config_check(), i2s_esp32_config_get(), i2s_esp32_read(), i2s_esp32_write()) already guarded the pointers, and a static audit found no equivalent unguarded path.\n\nThe driver defect is older than the affected range. The unguarded dereference is present from v4.2.0 (reached through i2s_esp32_trigger_stream(), whose if (stream) guard tests the address of a struct member and is never false) and takes its present i2s_esp32_trigger_check() form in v4.3.0. No in-tree Espressif configuration before v4.4.0 can run a user-mode thread, so in v4.2.x and v4.3.x the direction argument can only come from trusted kernel code. Those releases carry the bug but are not listed as affected; the fix has also been merged to v4.3-branch as hardening.","state":"PUBLISHED","assigner":"zephyr","published_at":"2026-10-11 18:16:58","updated_at":"2026-10-16 16:17:05"},"problem_types":["CWE-476","CWE-476 memory-safety"],"metrics":[{"version":"3.1","source":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org","type":"Secondary","score":"5.5","severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","data":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","baseScore":5.5,"baseSeverity":"MEDIUM","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"NONE","integrityImpact":"NONE","availabilityImpact":"HIGH"}},{"version":"3.1","source":"CNA","type":"CVSS","score":"5.5","severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","data":{"baseScore":5.5,"baseSeverity":"MEDIUM","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","version":"3.1"}}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-5g9q-h8wq-rrf3","name":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-5g9q-h8wq-rrf3","refsource":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/0d82dbbe72f154de32cc45021a9f59d9a737246b","name":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/0d82dbbe72f154de32cc45021a9f59d9a737246b","refsource":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-19737","name":"CVE Program record","refsource":"CVE.ORG","tags":["canonical"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-19737","name":"NVD vulnerability detail","refsource":"NVD","tags":["canonical","analysis"]}],"affected":[{"source":"CNA","vendor":"zephyrproject","product":"zephyr","version":"affected 4.4.0 4.5.0 semver","platforms":[]}],"timeline":[],"solutions":[],"workarounds":[],"exploits":[],"credits":[],"nvd_cpes":[],"vendor_comments":[],"enrichments":{"kev":null,"epss":{"cve_year":"2026","cve_id":"19737","cve":"CVE-2026-19737","epss":"0.001000000","percentile":"0.008070000","score_date":"2026-10-12","updated_at":"2026-10-13 00:11:16"},"legacy_qids":[]},"source_records":{"cve_program":{"containers":{"adp":[{"metrics":[{"other":{"content":{"id":"CVE-2026-19737","options":[{"Exploitation":"none"},{"Automatable":"no"},{"Technical Impact":"partial"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","timestamp":"2026-10-16T15:45:22.302843Z","version":"2.0.3"},"type":"ssvc"}}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-10-16T15:46:16.400Z","orgId":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","shortName":"CISA-ADP"},"title":"CISA ADP Vulnrichment"}],"cna":{"affected":[{"collectionURL":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr","defaultStatus":"unaffected","packageName":"zephyr","product":"zephyr","programFiles":["drivers/i2s/i2s_esp32.c"],"programRoutines":[{"name":"i2s_esp32_trigger"},{"name":"i2s_esp32_trigger_check"}],"vendor":"zephyrproject","versions":[{"lessThan":"4.5.0","status":"affected","version":"4.4.0","versionType":"semver"}]}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"i2s_esp32_trigger_check() in drivers/i2s/i2s_esp32.c validates the requested direction only for I2S_DIR_BOTH. The I2S_DIR_RX and I2S_DIR_TX branches read dev_cfg->rx.data->configured / dev_cfg->tx.data->configured without first checking the stream pointers. The device instantiation macro I2S_ESP32_STREAM_INIT() sets both .conf and .data to NULL for a direction the devicetree does not describe, so on an instance that wires only one direction — the normal shape for audio output or a worldsemi,ws2812-i2s LED strip — the other direction dereferences a NULL pointer instead of returning an error.\n\ni2s_trigger() is a Zephyr syscall, and z_vrfy_i2s_trigger() in drivers/i2s/i2s_handlers.c validates only the device object and the presence of the trigger API pointer; the dir argument is passed to the driver unvalidated. On a build with CONFIG_USERSPACE enabled, a user-mode thread that has been granted the I2S device can issue a single i2s_trigger() call naming the unwired direction and cause a load from address 0 in kernel mode. Among the Espressif parts that carry this driver, userspace is available in-tree only on RISC-V SoCs with CONFIG_RISCV_PMP, and v4.4.0 is the first release where that is buildable: the ESP32-C6 HPCORE selects RISCV_PMP when it is not built for MCUboot. ESP32-C5 in v4.4.x carries the same PMP-region and userspace linker support but does not select RISCV_PMP by default. Espressif Xtensa targets do not support Zephyr userspace, and in a non-userspace build the bad direction can only come from in-kernel application code.\n\nThe impact is limited to availability: the access is a read at offset 0 of the missing stream structure, so there is no attacker-controlled offset, no write primitive and no information disclosure. With the default fatal-error handler the resulting exception halts the system, giving an unprivileged user-mode thread a system-wide denial of service. The fix adds the same pointer check the I2S_DIR_BOTH branch already performed and returns -ENOSYS for a direction the instance does not implement; the driver's other entry points (i2s_esp32_config_check(), i2s_esp32_config_get(), i2s_esp32_read(), i2s_esp32_write()) already guarded the pointers, and a static audit found no equivalent unguarded path.\n\nThe driver defect is older than the affected range. The unguarded dereference is present from v4.2.0 (reached through i2s_esp32_trigger_stream(), whose if (stream) guard tests the address of a struct member and is never false) and takes its present i2s_esp32_trigger_check() form in v4.3.0. No in-tree Espressif configuration before v4.4.0 can run a user-mode thread, so in v4.2.x and v4.3.x the direction argument can only come from trusted kernel code. Those releases carry the bug but are not listed as affected; the fix has also been merged to v4.3-branch as hardening."}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"baseScore":5.5,"baseSeverity":"MEDIUM","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","version":"3.1"},"format":"CVSS"}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-476","description":"memory-safety","lang":"en","type":"CWE"}]}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-10-11T17:15:01.878Z","orgId":"e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad","shortName":"zephyr"},"references":[{"name":"Fix commit","tags":["patch"],"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/0d82dbbe72f154de32cc45021a9f59d9a737246b"},{"name":"GHSA-5g9q-h8wq-rrf3","url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-5g9q-h8wq-rrf3"}],"title":"NULL pointer dereference in the ESP32 I2S driver when triggering an unsupported direction","x_generator":{"engine":"cvelib 1.8.0"}}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad","assignerShortName":"zephyr","cveId":"CVE-2026-19737","datePublished":"2026-10-11T17:15:01.878Z","dateReserved":"2026-08-13T13:46:28.028Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-16T15:46:16.400Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-10-11 18:16:58","lastModifiedDate":"2026-10-16 16:17:05","problem_types":["CWE-476","CWE-476 memory-safety"],"metrics":{"cvssMetricV31":[{"source":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org","type":"Secondary","cvssData":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","baseScore":5.5,"baseSeverity":"MEDIUM","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"NONE","integrityImpact":"NONE","availabilityImpact":"HIGH"},"exploitabilityScore":1.8,"impactScore":3.6}],"ssvcV203":[{"source":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","ssvcData":{"timestamp":"2026-10-16T15:45:22.302843Z","id":"CVE-2026-19737","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"partial"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","version":"2.0.3"}}]},"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"19737","Ordinal":"1","Title":"NULL pointer dereference in the ESP32 I2S driver when triggering","CVE":"CVE-2026-19737","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"19737","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"i2s_esp32_trigger_check() in drivers/i2s/i2s_esp32.c validates the requested direction only for I2S_DIR_BOTH. The I2S_DIR_RX and I2S_DIR_TX branches read dev_cfg->rx.data->configured / dev_cfg->tx.data->configured without first checking the stream pointers. The device instantiation macro I2S_ESP32_STREAM_INIT() sets both .conf and .data to NULL for a direction the devicetree does not describe, so on an instance that wires only one direction — the normal shape for audio output or a worldsemi,ws2812-i2s LED strip — the other direction dereferences a NULL pointer instead of returning an error.\n\ni2s_trigger() is a Zephyr syscall, and z_vrfy_i2s_trigger() in drivers/i2s/i2s_handlers.c validates only the device object and the presence of the trigger API pointer; the dir argument is passed to the driver unvalidated. On a build with CONFIG_USERSPACE enabled, a user-mode thread that has been granted the I2S device can issue a single i2s_trigger() call naming the unwired direction and cause a load from address 0 in kernel mode. Among the Espressif parts that carry this driver, userspace is available in-tree only on RISC-V SoCs with CONFIG_RISCV_PMP, and v4.4.0 is the first release where that is buildable: the ESP32-C6 HPCORE selects RISCV_PMP when it is not built for MCUboot. ESP32-C5 in v4.4.x carries the same PMP-region and userspace linker support but does not select RISCV_PMP by default. Espressif Xtensa targets do not support Zephyr userspace, and in a non-userspace build the bad direction can only come from in-kernel application code.\n\nThe impact is limited to availability: the access is a read at offset 0 of the missing stream structure, so there is no attacker-controlled offset, no write primitive and no information disclosure. With the default fatal-error handler the resulting exception halts the system, giving an unprivileged user-mode thread a system-wide denial of service. The fix adds the same pointer check the I2S_DIR_BOTH branch already performed and returns -ENOSYS for a direction the instance does not implement; the driver's other entry points (i2s_esp32_config_check(), i2s_esp32_config_get(), i2s_esp32_read(), i2s_esp32_write()) already guarded the pointers, and a static audit found no equivalent unguarded path.\n\nThe driver defect is older than the affected range. The unguarded dereference is present from v4.2.0 (reached through i2s_esp32_trigger_stream(), whose if (stream) guard tests the address of a struct member and is never false) and takes its present i2s_esp32_trigger_check() form in v4.3.0. No in-tree Espressif configuration before v4.4.0 can run a user-mode thread, so in v4.2.x and v4.3.x the direction argument can only come from trusted kernel code. Those releases carry the bug but are not listed as affected; the fix has also been merged to v4.3-branch as hardening.","Type":"Description","Title":"NULL pointer dereference in the ESP32 I2S driver when triggering"}]}}}