Vulnerability · Published Aug 11, 2026 · Assigned by zephyr

CVE-2026-12051NULL pointer dereference in USB DFU device_next download handler (handle_download)

Medium 4.6

In plain English

A medium-severity null pointer dereference in zephyr from zephyrproject. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 14% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)4.6Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 86.1% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

The USB DFU class implementation in Zephyr's new (experimental) device_next USB device stack contains a NULL pointer dereference in handle_download() (subsys/usb/device_next/class/usbd_dfu.c). The handler computes MIN(setup->wLength, buf->len) and passes buf->data to the image write callback without checking that the buf net_buf pointer is non-NULL. The handler is reached over the USB control endpoint, driven by the USB host. For a DFU_DNLOAD (download) request with no Data OUT stage — notably the zero-length terminating download that the DFU protocol uses to end a firmware transfer — the USB core invokes the class handler with a NULL buffer. After the device has been advanced to the DFU_DNLOAD_IDLE state (by sending one valid download block and a GET_STATUS), a zero-length DFU_DNLOAD reaches handle_download() with buf == NULL, dereferencing it. The result is a NULL+offset read that triggers a fatal CPU fault, i.e. a denial of service (device crash/reset). The attacker is whatever controls the USB host the device is attached to; DFU download support must be enabled with a registered image. There is no memory corruption or information disclosure — impact is limited to availability. The fix adds an explicit if (buf != NULL) guard so the callback receives a zero-length, NULL-data transfer instead of crashing.

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
zephyrproject zephyr 4.4.0 – before 4.4.2

Weakness: CWE-476 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References