Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-10685

Memory Safety in Zephyrproject Zephyr 2.4.0 – 4.5.0

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
31 July 2026
Modified
07 August 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0019 9th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-10685 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Zephyrproject Zephyr. Its CVSS base score is 7.6 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The Zephyr Bluetooth GATT client CCC-write response handler gatt_write_ccc_rsp() in subsys/bluetooth/host/gatt.c invoked the application's params->subscribe() callback after it had already called params->notify(conn, params, NULL, 0). Per the public GATT API, a notify callback with NULL data is the documented signal…

more

that the subscription has terminated and the bt_gatt_subscribe_params struct may be freed or reused by the application; calling subscribe() on the struct afterwards is a use-after-free, including an indirect call through the freed params->subscribe function pointer. The error branch is remotely (adjacent) reachable: a Zephyr device acting as a GATT client that calls bt_gatt_subscribe() can be driven into this ordering when a connected GATT server peer answers the CCC write with an ATT Error Response (the peer-supplied error code flows through att_error_rsp -> att_handle_rsp into gatt_write_ccc_rsp). For applications that free or recycle subscription parameters in their notification-termination handler, this results in memory corruption, a crash (denial of service), or potentially attacker-influenced control flow. The fix reorders the handler so the subscribe() callback runs before the terminating notify(NULL) in both the error and unsubscribe paths.

CWE(s)
CWE-416

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-10667Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10635Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10636Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10634Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10637Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10663Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10638Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10646Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10655Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2026-10640Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr

Affected Assets

zephyrproject
zephyr
2.4.0 — 4.5.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.

SC-39 Process Isolation partial match

Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References