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CVE-2026-76787

Status: ReceivedMedium (5.9)—
Severity5.9Medium · CVSS 3.1
Exploitation probability0.29 %higher than 20% of CVEs
Active exploitationNonot in the CISA catalog
Public exploitNot knownno public code found

The UpdateHub firmware-over-the-air client parses the CoAP probe response with Zephyr's JSON library in z_impl_updatehub_probe() (subsys/mgmt/updatehub/updatehub.c). The decoder treats every descriptor field as optional — json_obj_parse() returns a bitmask of the fields it actually decoded and never fails on a missing one — so a response that omits the "sha256sum" string leaves the corresponding const char * in the zero-initialised struct resp_probe_any_boards / struct resp_probe_some_boards at NULL. Both metadata branches then computed sha256size = strlen(...objects.sha256sum) + 1 before any validation, dereferencing that NULL pointer; the SHA256_HEX_DIGEST_SIZE test that follows operates on a value the bad read has already produced and cannot prevent it.

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The metadata is supplied entirely by the network peer: probe_cb() accepts the datagram, runs coap_packet_parse() and copies the payload with no token matching and no cryptographic check. With CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_DTLS unset — the default — start_coap_client() uses plain CoAP over UDP on port 5683 with no peer authentication and resolves the server via unauthenticated DNS, so an on-path attacker, a DNS spoofer, or an off-path attacker who wins the race with a forged source address can deliver the malformed metadata. A probe response as simple as "objects":[[{}],[{}]] suffices, and no user interaction is required because updatehub_autohandler() polls on CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_POLL_INTERVAL. When CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_DTLS=y the trigger narrows to a malicious or compromised update server.

The primitive is a read at address zero, not a write, so the impact is availability only. On targets where the low address range is unmapped or protected — MMU-based architectures, builds with CONFIG_NULL_POINTER_EXCEPTION_DETECTION_DWT/_MPU/_PMP, TrustZone non-secure images, and SoCs such as nRF54L whose 0x0–0x400 window is unmapped — the load faults and Zephyr's default fatal handler halts the system, giving a remotely re-triggerable denial of service on every poll. On classic Cortex-M targets where the vector table is readable at address zero the walk usually terminates immediately and the request is rejected by the length check, so the outcome is configuration- and SoC-dependent. There is no memory write, and the copied bytes are only compared against the locally computed image hash, so there is no information-disclosure channel.

The fix adds an explicit sha256sum == NULL test that returns UPDATEHUB_METADATA_ERROR ahead of the strlen() in both metadata branches. Debug builds (CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_LOG_LEVEL=4) still format the same pointers with %s in a LOG_DBG() loop that runs before the new checks, so that variant remains in debug configurations only.

CVSS

Base score
5.9
Version
3.1
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.29 %
Percentile among all scored CVEs
20
Score date
10/20/2026

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

ATT&CK techniques

How this vulnerability is exploited and what the attacker gains, in MITRE ATT&CK terms.

Vector AV:N/PR:N/UI:N permite explotarlo remotamente sin autenticación; la lectura en dirección cero provoca un fallo que detiene el sistema (solo disponibilidad, A:H).

Inferred by our analysis agent from the official description, CVSS vector and CWE, and checked by a supervisor. May contain errors.

ATT&CK mitigations that cover these techniques

Filter Network TrafficVulnerability ScanningPrivileged Account ManagementNetwork SegmentationLimit Access to Resource Over NetworkApplication Isolation and Sandboxing

Affected technologies (2)

⚠ AI-inferred from the description — NVD hasn't analyzed this CVE yet, these aren't verified CPEs.

Updatehub — UpdatehubAIZephyrproject — ZephyrAI

CWEs

References

Show 2 references

Raw JSON (NVD)

Show
{
  "id": "CVE-2026-76787",
  "cveTags": [],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "type": "Secondary",
        "source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org",
        "cvssData": {
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "version": "3.1",
          "baseScore": 5.9,
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE"
        },
        "impactScore": 3.6,
        "exploitabilityScore": 2.2
      }
    ]
  },
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "zephyrproject",
          "product": "zephyr",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "2.4.0",
              "lessThan": "4.5.0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ],
          "packageName": "zephyr",
          "programFiles": [
            "subsys/mgmt/updatehub/updatehub.c"
          ],
          "collectionURL": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "programRoutines": [
            {
              "name": "z_impl_updatehub_probe"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published": "2026-10-19T21:18:01.230",
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/6fc4f27a74021b52c509e4f7912d68145dfa7728",
      "source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-82gq-cmqw-xgx2",
      "source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"
    }
  ],
  "vulnStatus": "Received",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "type": "Secondary",
      "source": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-476"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "The UpdateHub firmware-over-the-air client parses the CoAP probe response with Zephyr's JSON library in z_impl_updatehub_probe() (subsys/mgmt/updatehub/updatehub.c). The decoder treats every descriptor field as optional — json_obj_parse() returns a bitmask of the fields it actually decoded and never fails on a missing one — so a response that omits the \"sha256sum\" string leaves the corresponding const char * in the zero-initialised struct resp_probe_any_boards / struct resp_probe_some_boards at NULL. Both metadata branches then computed sha256size = strlen(...objects.sha256sum) + 1 before any validation, dereferencing that NULL pointer; the SHA256_HEX_DIGEST_SIZE test that follows operates on a value the bad read has already produced and cannot prevent it.\n\nThe metadata is supplied entirely by the network peer: probe_cb() accepts the datagram, runs coap_packet_parse() and copies the payload with no token matching and no cryptographic check. With CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_DTLS unset — the default — start_coap_client() uses plain CoAP over UDP on port 5683 with no peer authentication and resolves the server via unauthenticated DNS, so an on-path attacker, a DNS spoofer, or an off-path attacker who wins the race with a forged source address can deliver the malformed metadata. A probe response as simple as \"objects\":[[{}],[{}]] suffices, and no user interaction is required because updatehub_autohandler() polls on CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_POLL_INTERVAL. When CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_DTLS=y the trigger narrows to a malicious or compromised update server.\n\nThe primitive is a read at address zero, not a write, so the impact is availability only. On targets where the low address range is unmapped or protected — MMU-based architectures, builds with CONFIG_NULL_POINTER_EXCEPTION_DETECTION_DWT/_MPU/_PMP, TrustZone non-secure images, and SoCs such as nRF54L whose 0x0–0x400 window is unmapped — the load faults and Zephyr's default fatal handler halts the system, giving a remotely re-triggerable denial of service on every poll. On classic Cortex-M targets where the vector table is readable at address zero the walk usually terminates immediately and the request is rejected by the length check, so the outcome is configuration- and SoC-dependent. There is no memory write, and the copied bytes are only compared against the locally computed image hash, so there is no information-disclosure channel.\n\nThe fix adds an explicit sha256sum == NULL test that returns UPDATEHUB_METADATA_ERROR ahead of the strlen() in both metadata branches. Debug builds (CONFIG_UPDATEHUB_LOG_LEVEL=4) still format the same pointers with %s in a LOG_DBG() loop that runs before the new checks, so that variant remains in debug configurations only."
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-10-19T21:18:01.230",
  "sourceIdentifier": "vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"
}