CVE-2026-12631
The Zephyr kernel validates the k_thread_join() and k_thread_abort() system calls (declared __syscall in include/zephyr/kernel.h) through thread_obj_validate() in kernel/thread.c. Its default switch branch is the access-denied path, taken when k_object_validate() returns -EPERM (the calling user thread was never granted access to the target thread object) or -EBADF (the supplied pointer is not a registered kernel object of the right type). That branch invoked K_OOPS(K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(ret, "access denied")), but K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG treats a true expression as success; the non-zero error code ret therefore read as "verified OK", the kernel oops was never raised, and control fell through to CODE_UNREACHABLE.
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Because k_thread_join() and k_thread_abort() are system calls, an unprivileged user-mode thread (under CONFIG_USERSPACE) can reach this denial path directly by calling either syscall on a thread object it does not own. Instead of the offending thread being cleanly terminated, execution reaches __builtin_unreachable() while running in supervisor mode inside the syscall handler.
On Clang builds CODE_UNREACHABLE emits an illegal-instruction trap, so a user thread can deterministically crash the kernel — a locally triggerable denial of service that escapes the userspace sandbox. On GCC builds the path is undefined behavior: the compiler may drop the return-value handling for thread_obj_validate(), so it can return an undefined bool; if that is false, the caller proceeds into the real k_thread_join()/k_thread_abort() implementation for a thread the user was never authorized to access, an access-control bypass.
The fix changes the verification expression to ret == 0, so a denied (non-zero) result now correctly raises K_OOPS and terminates the offending caller.
CVSS
- Versión: 3.1
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Puntuación base: 6.5
Probabilidad de explotación (EPSS)
- Probabilidad de explotación en los próximos 30 días: 0.15%
- Percentil entre todas las CVEs puntuadas: 4
- Fecha de la puntuación: 6/10/2026
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, de FIRST) estima la probabilidad de que una vulnerabilidad sea explotada en 30 días. Complementa a CVSS (impacto) y a CISA KEV (explotación confirmada).
Tecnologías afectadas (1)
⚠ Inferidas por IA a partir de la descripción — NVD aún no ha analizado esta CVE; no son CPE verificados.
CWE
- CWE-862
Referencias
JSON original (NVD)
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{
"id": "CVE-2026-12631",
"cveTags": [],
"metrics": {
"ssvcV203": [
{
"source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"ssvcData": {
"id": "CVE-2026-12631",
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"options": [
{
"exploitation": "none"
},
{
"automatable": "no"
},
{
"technicalImpact": "partial"
}
],
"version": "2.0.3",
"timestamp": "2026-08-19T13:17:32.022813Z"
}
}
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"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"type": "Secondary",
"source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org",
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"version": "3.1",
"baseScore": 6.5,
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
},
"impactScore": 4,
"exploitabilityScore": 2
}
]
},
"affected": [
{
"source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org",
"affectedData": [
{
"vendor": "zephyrproject",
"product": "zephyr",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "2.3.0",
"lessThan": "4.4.2",
"versionType": "semver"
}
],
"packageName": "zephyr",
"programFiles": [
"kernel/thread.c"
],
"collectionURL": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr",
"defaultStatus": "unaffected"
}
]
}
],
"published": "2026-08-18T21:16:33.647",
"references": [
{
"url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/bd1828652dfc217ba9f3a2221a7499cd8914ed9c",
"source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"
},
{
"url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-crfw-75jw-hjm3",
"source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"
}
],
"vulnStatus": "Awaiting Analysis",
"weaknesses": [
{
"type": "Secondary",
"source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org",
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-862"
}
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}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "The Zephyr kernel validates the k_thread_join() and k_thread_abort() system calls (declared __syscall in include/zephyr/kernel.h) through thread_obj_validate() in kernel/thread.c. Its default switch branch is the access-denied path, taken when k_object_validate() returns -EPERM (the calling user thread was never granted access to the target thread object) or -EBADF (the supplied pointer is not a registered kernel object of the right type). That branch invoked K_OOPS(K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(ret, \"access denied\")), but K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG treats a true expression as success; the non-zero error code ret therefore read as \"verified OK\", the kernel oops was never raised, and control fell through to CODE_UNREACHABLE.\n\nBecause k_thread_join() and k_thread_abort() are system calls, an unprivileged user-mode thread (under CONFIG_USERSPACE) can reach this denial path directly by calling either syscall on a thread object it does not own. Instead of the offending thread being cleanly terminated, execution reaches __builtin_unreachable() while running in supervisor mode inside the syscall handler.\n\nOn Clang builds CODE_UNREACHABLE emits an illegal-instruction trap, so a user thread can deterministically crash the kernel — a locally triggerable denial of service that escapes the userspace sandbox. On GCC builds the path is undefined behavior: the compiler may drop the return-value handling for thread_obj_validate(), so it can return an undefined bool; if that is false, the caller proceeds into the real k_thread_join()/k_thread_abort() implementation for a thread the user was never authorized to access, an access-control bypass.\n\nThe fix changes the verification expression to ret == 0, so a denied (non-zero) result now correctly raises K_OOPS and terminates the offending caller."
}
],
"lastModified": "2026-08-26T16:59:23.267",
"sourceIdentifier": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"
}