Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-5590 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Zephyrproject Zephyr. Its CVSS base score is 6.4 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 10th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-19028
Vulnerability Data
A race condition during TCP connection teardown can cause tcp_recv() to operate on a connection that has already been released. If tcp_conn_search() returns NULL while processing a SYN packet, a NULL pointer derived from stale context data is passed to…
more
tcp_backlog_is_full() and dereferenced without validation, leading to a crash.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
NULL pointer dereference in TCP stack processing (SYN packet) directly enables remote exploitation to crash the endpoint.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires validation of inputs/return values (e.g., tcp_conn_search result) before any dereference, blocking the NULL pointer path that triggers the crash.
Enforces memory protection mechanisms that can intercept or contain invalid pointer dereferences arising from the race condition on released TCP state.
Requires robust error handling for unexpected NULL or invalid states during TCP processing, preventing the unvalidated call to tcp_backlog_is_full.
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.
Secure SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.
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.
Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.
Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.
Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.
Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.
Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.