zephyr: Untrusted Pointer Dereference
CVE-2026-91007 is a high-severity untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in zephyr from Zephyr Project, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 4.3.2, 4.5.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating zephyr to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.11% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update zephyr to 4.3.2 or 4.5.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zephyr Project | zephyr | 3.7.0 up to, but not including, 4.3.2; 4.4.0 up to, but not including, 4.5.0 | 4.3.2, 4.5.0 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (zephyrproject.org).
Official description
The user-mode syscall verifiers for the charger driver API in drivers/charger/charger_handlers.c did not inspect the prop argument before copying union charger_propval across the user/kernel boundary. Two members of that union are function pointers — status_notification (CHARGER_PROP_STATUS_NOTIFICATION) and online_notification (CHARGER_PROP_ONLINE_NOTIFICATION), declared in include/zephyr/drivers/charger.h — and z_vrfy_charger_set_prop() forwarded the caller-supplied union verbatim to the driver's set_property callback for any property. z_vrfy_charger_get_prop() had the mirror defect and copied the stored kernel callback address back out to user memory. With CONFIG_USERSPACE enabled, any user-mode thread that has been granted a charger device object could call charger_set_prop() with CHARGER_PROP_STATUS_NOTIFICATION or CHARGER_PROP_ONLINE_NOTIFICATION and an arbitrary pointer value. Drivers that implement these properties — drivers/charger/charger_max20335.c, drivers/charger/charger_pf1550.c and drivers/charger/charger_bq2518x.c — store the pointer in device data and later invoke it from their interrupt work handlers, which run in supervisor mode, on any charger state change such as a cable plug/unplug. The result is a control-flow hijack at kernel privilege from an unprivileged thread, defeating the isolation that CONFIG_USERSPACE is meant to provide; the read path additionally disclosed a kernel code address to user mode, and clearing a notifier installed by a supervisor thread let user mode suppress charger notifications. Supervisor-mode callers of charger_set_prop()/charger_get_prop() are unaffected. The fix makes both verifiers reject the two notifier properties outright — including when the supplied callback is NULL, since the notifiers are device state — and adds a BUILD_ASSERT on CHARGER_PROP_COMMON_COUNT so that new properties force a re-review of the union's user-mode safety.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Untrusted Pointer Dereference
The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer.
More Untrusted Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities (CWE-822)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
References
Patches and release notes
Other vulnerabilities in zephyr
- 7.8 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
Recent Untrusted Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
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