Public vulnerability disclosure

CVE-2026-10671

User thread can re-initialize an in-use `k_pipe`, corrupting kernel wait queues (`CONFIG_USERSPACE`)

publishedCWE-825

In Zephyr's kernel pipe implementation, the userspace syscall verifier z_vrfy_k_pipe_init() in kernel/pipe.c used K_SYSCALL_OBJ() (which requires the kernel object to already be initialized) instead of K_SYSCALL_OBJ_NEVER_INIT() (which rejects an already-initialized object). As a result, on CONFIG_USERSPACE builds an unprivileged user thread that has been granted access to a k_pipe object can invoke the k_pipe_init syscall to re-initialize a pipe that is already in use. z_impl_k_pipe_init() unconditionally resets the ring buffer, sets pipe->waiting to 0, and re-initializes both wait queues (z_waitq_init on pipe->data and pipe->space) without waking or accounting for threads currently blocked on the pipe. Any thread already pended in k_pipe_read()/k_pipe_write() is left orphaned: still marked pending with pended_on pointing at the cleared wait queue and with stale qnode_dlist links into the (now re-initialized) embedded list head. When such an orphaned waiter is later timed out or woken, the scheduler calls sys_dlist_remove() on its stale node, writing through dangling prev/next pointers into kernel wait-queue/scheduler structures, causing list corruption (an attacker-driven invalid kernel write), lost wakeups, indefinitely blocked threads, and silent data loss. The flaw lets a deprivileged user thread corrupt the state of a kernel object shared with other threads/partitions. The fix switches the verifier to K_SYSCALL_OBJ_NEVER_INIT(), matching the existing k_msgq_init verifier, so a user thread can no longer re-initialize a live pipe. The vulnerable code shipped in v4.1.0 and remained through v4.4.0.

Technical severity7.1 highCVSS 3.1 · CNA: zephyr
Published2026-07-14Source updated 2026-11-04
Collected2026-11-042 attributed sources

Fixes and workarounds

Fix

The reporting source identifies this reference as a patch. Check the advisory for affected versions and supported release branches.

Source: CNA: zephyr

Affected products and versions

Affected products, source version ranges and reporting authorities
ProductVersionsAuthority
zephyr
zephyrproject
zephyr
https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr
≥ 4.1.0; < 4.3.1 (affected, semver)
≥ 4.4.0; < 4.4.2 (affected, semver)
Other versions: unaffected
CNA: zephyr

Version ranges are source assertions. Check the vendor advisory and your installed configuration before determining exposure.

CVSS assessments

CVSS scores, vectors and reporting authorities
Version / scoreVectorAuthority
3.1 / 7.1
high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:HCNA: zephyr

Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

References

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