MEDIUM CVSS 4.6
Published: 2026-06-24

CVE-2026-10642

zephyrproject zephyr Security Advisory (CVE-2026-10642)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2026-10642 impacting zephyrproject zephyr. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 4.6 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
The Zephyr PL011 UART driver (drivers/serial/uart_pl011.c) contains an unbounded software loop in pl011_irq_tx_enable() that repeatedly invokes the interrupt-driven application callback while the TX interrupt mask bit (PL011_IMSC_TXIM) is set, to work around the controller's level-transition TX-interrupt behavior. When CTS hardware flow control is enabled (devicetree hw-flow-control or runtime UART_CFG_FLOW_CTRL_RTS_CTS) and the wired serial peer de-asserts CTS, the controller stops draining the TX FIFO; pl011_fifo_fill() then returns 0 on every call while the application still has pending data and therefore never disables the TX interrupt. The loop condition never clears, so the thread that called uart_irq_tx_enable() (e.g. h4_send() in the Bluetooth HCI H4 driver) spins indefinitely, hanging the executing context and stalling the transport — a denial of service (CWE-835). An attacker controlling the device attached to the UART's CTS line can trigger the hang by withholding CTS during transmission. Because that peer is the device wired to the UART — which may be a removable or external module (e.g. an off-board Bluetooth controller on the HCI H4 link) rather than a permanently-bonded on-PCB part — the attack vector is scored Adjacent (AV:A) rather than Physical; the security subcommittee should confirm the vector against the specific deployment. Impact is availability only; there is no memory-safety, confidentiality, or integrity consequence. The vulnerable loop was introduced in commit b783bc8448ef (Feb 2025) and shipped in releases v4.1.0 through v4.4.0. The fix breaks out of the loop when CTS is blocking and arms the CTS modem-status interrupt to resume transmission when CTS re-asserts.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Physical (AV:P)
Requires physical access to target hardware
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
None (PR:N)
Unauthenticated execution
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Unchanged (S:U)
Confined to same security context
Confidentiality
None (C:N)
No data confidentiality impact
Integrity
None (I:N)
No system modification impact
Availability
High (A:H)
Total denial of service or shutdown

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product zephyrproject / zephyr
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-835

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2026-10642 impacting zephyrproject zephyr.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2026-10642.yaml
id: cve-2026-10642

info:
  name: zephyrproject zephyr - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2026-10642 affecting zephyrproject zephyr.
    Evaluation: The Zephyr PL011 UART driver (drivers/serial/uart_pl011.c) contains an unbounded software loop in pl011_irq_tx_enable() that repeatedly invokes the in...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2026-10642
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    cvss-score: 4.6
    cve-id: CVE-2026-10642
    cwe-id: CWE-835
  tags: cve,cve-2026-10642,zephyrproject,zephyr,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "zephyr"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2026-10642.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2026-10642
# Target: zephyrproject zephyr | CVSS: 4.6 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2026-10642 (zephyrproject zephyr)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against zephyrproject zephyr scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2026-10642.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2026-10642
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install zephyr 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade zephyr 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update zephyr

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i zephyr 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i zephyr

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

🔗 Verified Technical References

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2026-10642 in zephyrproject zephyr?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update zephyrproject zephyr packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2026-10642?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2026-10642?

CVE-2026-10642 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 4.6 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
4.6
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2026-10642
Weakness CWE-835
Vendor zephyrproject
Product zephyr
Published 2026-06-24
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H