Vulnerability · Published Dec 17, 2025 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2025-66646RIOT-OS has NULL pointer dereference in gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag_reass
Low 1.7
In plain English
A low-severity null pointer dereference in RIOT from RIOT-OS. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.7% (higher than 53% of all known vulnerabilities).
Official description
RIOT is an open-source microcontroller operating system, designed to match the requirements of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other embedded devices. A vulnerability was discovered in the IPv6 fragmentation reassembly implementation of RIOT OS v2025.07. When receiving an fragmented IPv6 packet with fragment offset 0 and an empty payload, the payload pointer is set to NULL. However, the implementation still tries to copy the payload into the reassembly buffer, resulting in a NULL pointer dereference which crashes the OS (DoS). To trigger the vulnerability, the `gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag` module must be enabled and the attacker must be able to send arbitrary IPv6 packets to the victim. RIOT OS v2025.10 fixes the issue.
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-476 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U
References
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/security/advisories/GHSA-v8gx-q9m6-5xm9 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/network_layer/ipv6/ext/frag/gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag.c#L411 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/network_layer/ipv6/ext/frag/gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag.c#L420 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/network_layer/ipv6/ext/frag/gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag.c#L490 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/network_layer/ipv6/ext/frag/gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag.c#L532 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/network_layer/ipv6/ext/frag/gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag.c#L534 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/network_layer/ipv6/ext/frag/gnrc_ipv6_ext_frag.c#L544 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/blob/eb65305cf9f1b7affb50b17af5c12341b83a8636/sys/net/gnrc/pktbuf_static/gnrc_pktbuf_static.c#L150C1-L150C76 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/RIOT-OS/RIOT/releases/tag/2025.10 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/user-attachments/files/23903992/reproducer_1.zip x_refsource_MISC