Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-1679

Memory Safety in Zephyrproject Zephyr ≤ 4.3.0

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
28 March 2026
Modified
31 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0022 12th percentile
Risk Priority 53 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-1679 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Zephyrproject Zephyr. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 12th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-1679 is a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-120) in the eswifi socket offload driver within the Zephyr RTOS. The driver copies user-provided payloads into a fixed buffer without checking available space, allowing oversized sends to overflow the `eswifi->buf` structure and corrupt kernel memory. The vulnerability was published on 2026-03-28 and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.3 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H).

A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this issue by executing code that calls the socket send API with oversized payloads. Remote attackers cannot reach the vulnerability directly. Successful exploitation enables kernel memory corruption, potentially leading to limited confidentiality loss alongside high integrity and availability impacts.

Mitigation details are available in the Zephyr Project security advisory at https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-qx3g-5g22-fq5w.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The eswifi socket offload driver copies user-provided payloads into a fixed buffer without checking available space; oversized sends overflow `eswifi->buf`, corrupting kernel memory (CWE-120). Exploit requires local code that can call the socket send API; no remote attacker can reach…

more

it directly.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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

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CVE-2023-4257Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2023-4424Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2023-4259Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2023-4263Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2023-5753Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr
CVE-2023-4260Same product: Zephyrproject Zephyr

Affected Assets

zephyrproject
zephyr
≤ 4.3.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and analysis can find missing size checks before deployment.

Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.

Engineering principles require bounds checking and safe buffer handling in design.

Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.

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 development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

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.

prevents

Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.

finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.

References