CVE-2026-16514 (GCVE-0-2026-16514)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-09-18 14:30
Modified
2026-09-18 16:42
Severity ?
4.3 (Medium) - CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
CWE
Summary
gptp_mi_qualify_announce() in subsys/net/l2/ethernet/gptp/gptp_mi.c walks the Path Trace TLV of a received IEEE 802.1AS Announce message, comparing each clock identity against the local one. The loop bound was taken solely from the attacker-controlled wire field announce->steps_removed (accepted up to 254), never from announce->tlv.len, which is the field that states how many identities the TLV actually carries. Because path_sequence is the flexible member of the wire TLV (struct gptp_path_trace_tlv) and GPTP_ANNOUNCE() yields a raw pointer into the received packet buffer, the memcmp() inside the loop can address memory well past the end of the received frame. The stack's only length validation, GPTP_ANNOUNCE_CHECK_LEN(), requires the received gPTP payload to be exactly 68 + tlv.len bytes — so it does not constrain the loop, it guarantees the data is absent. An unauthenticated attacker on the same Ethernet segment can send a single Announce frame declaring tlv.len = 0 with steps_removed = 254; the frame passes the length check and reception path (net_gptp_recv() → gptp_handle_msg() → gptp_mi_qualify_announce()), which performs no authentication, and the loop then reads 255 entries of 8 bytes each — about 2 KB — beyond the end of the network buffer. The impact is an out-of-bounds read. The bytes read are only used as a memcmp() operand and are never returned to the attacker, so there is no meaningful information disclosure; the practical risk is that the overread crosses a network buffer pool boundary into unmapped or MPU-protected memory and faults the networking RX thread, causing a denial of service. Exposure is limited to builds that enable the opt-in, experimental CONFIG_NET_GPTP (TSN/AVB deployments) and to attackers with layer-2 adjacency, since gPTP frames are sent to a link-local multicast address and are not routed. The fix computes the true entry count as tlv.len / GPTP_CLOCK_ID_LEN and rejects the announce when steps_removed + 1 exceeds it, so the loop can no longer run past the data the packet-length check proved present.
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
zephyrproject zephyr Version: 1.13.0   ≤
Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website

To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-16514",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-09-18T16:41:50.328879Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-09-18T16:42:41.192Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "collectionURL": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "packageName": "zephyr",
          "product": "zephyr",
          "programFiles": [
            "subsys/net/l2/ethernet/gptp/gptp_mi.c"
          ],
          "programRoutines": [
            {
              "name": "gptp_mi_qualify_announce"
            }
          ],
          "vendor": "zephyrproject",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "4.4.2",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1.13.0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "gptp_mi_qualify_announce() in subsys/net/l2/ethernet/gptp/gptp_mi.c walks the Path Trace TLV of a received IEEE 802.1AS Announce message, comparing each clock identity against the local one. The loop bound was taken solely from the attacker-controlled wire field announce-\u003esteps_removed (accepted up to 254), never from announce-\u003etlv.len, which is the field that states how many identities the TLV actually carries. Because path_sequence is the flexible member of the wire TLV (struct gptp_path_trace_tlv) and GPTP_ANNOUNCE() yields a raw pointer into the received packet buffer, the memcmp() inside the loop can address memory well past the end of the received frame.\n\nThe stack\u0027s only length validation, GPTP_ANNOUNCE_CHECK_LEN(), requires the received gPTP payload to be exactly 68 + tlv.len bytes \u2014 so it does not constrain the loop, it guarantees the data is absent. An unauthenticated attacker on the same Ethernet segment can send a single Announce frame declaring tlv.len = 0 with steps_removed = 254; the frame passes the length check and reception path (net_gptp_recv() \u2192 gptp_handle_msg() \u2192 gptp_mi_qualify_announce()), which performs no authentication, and the loop then reads 255 entries of 8 bytes each \u2014 about 2 KB \u2014 beyond the end of the network buffer.\n\nThe impact is an out-of-bounds read. The bytes read are only used as a memcmp() operand and are never returned to the attacker, so there is no meaningful information disclosure; the practical risk is that the overread crosses a network buffer pool boundary into unmapped or MPU-protected memory and faults the networking RX thread, causing a denial of service. Exposure is limited to builds that enable the opt-in, experimental CONFIG_NET_GPTP (TSN/AVB deployments) and to attackers with layer-2 adjacency, since gPTP frames are sent to a link-local multicast address and are not routed.\n\nThe fix computes the true entry count as tlv.len / GPTP_CLOCK_ID_LEN and rejects the announce when steps_removed + 1 exceeds it, so the loop can no longer run past the data the packet-length check proved present."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 4.3,
            "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "format": "CVSS"
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-125",
              "description": "bounds",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-09-18T14:30:11.895Z",
        "orgId": "e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad",
        "shortName": "zephyr"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "Fix commit",
          "tags": [
            "patch"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/a2c882db7a57cf08a06b4d27bead22b07a9c3c61"
        },
        {
          "name": "GHSA-mgxg-89rr-6855",
          "url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-mgxg-89rr-6855"
        }
      ],
      "title": "Out-of-bounds read in gPTP Announce path-trace validation via unvalidated stepsRemoved",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "cvelib 1.8.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad",
    "assignerShortName": "zephyr",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-16514",
    "datePublished": "2026-09-18T14:30:11.895Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-21T21:42:59.661Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-09-18T16:42:41.192Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "vulnrichment": {
      "containers": "{\"cna\": {\"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad\", \"shortName\": \"zephyr\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-09-18T14:30:11.895Z\"}, \"title\": \"Out-of-bounds read in gPTP Announce path-trace validation via unvalidated stepsRemoved\", \"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"value\": \"gptp_mi_qualify_announce() in subsys/net/l2/ethernet/gptp/gptp_mi.c walks the Path Trace TLV of a received IEEE 802.1AS Announce message, comparing each clock identity against the local one. The loop bound was taken solely from the attacker-controlled wire field announce-\u003esteps_removed (accepted up to 254), never from announce-\u003etlv.len, which is the field that states how many identities the TLV actually carries. Because path_sequence is the flexible member of the wire TLV (struct gptp_path_trace_tlv) and GPTP_ANNOUNCE() yields a raw pointer into the received packet buffer, the memcmp() inside the loop can address memory well past the end of the received frame.\\n\\nThe stack\u0027s only length validation, GPTP_ANNOUNCE_CHECK_LEN(), requires the received gPTP payload to be exactly 68 + tlv.len bytes \\u2014 so it does not constrain the loop, it guarantees the data is absent. An unauthenticated attacker on the same Ethernet segment can send a single Announce frame declaring tlv.len = 0 with steps_removed = 254; the frame passes the length check and reception path (net_gptp_recv() \\u2192 gptp_handle_msg() \\u2192 gptp_mi_qualify_announce()), which performs no authentication, and the loop then reads 255 entries of 8 bytes each \\u2014 about 2 KB \\u2014 beyond the end of the network buffer.\\n\\nThe impact is an out-of-bounds read. The bytes read are only used as a memcmp() operand and are never returned to the attacker, so there is no meaningful information disclosure; the practical risk is that the overread crosses a network buffer pool boundary into unmapped or MPU-protected memory and faults the networking RX thread, causing a denial of service. Exposure is limited to builds that enable the opt-in, experimental CONFIG_NET_GPTP (TSN/AVB deployments) and to attackers with layer-2 adjacency, since gPTP frames are sent to a link-local multicast address and are not routed.\\n\\nThe fix computes the true entry count as tlv.len / GPTP_CLOCK_ID_LEN and rejects the announce when steps_removed + 1 exceeds it, so the loop can no longer run past the data the packet-length check proved present.\"}], \"affected\": [{\"vendor\": \"zephyrproject\", \"product\": \"zephyr\", \"collectionURL\": \"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr\", \"packageName\": \"zephyr\", \"defaultStatus\": \"unaffected\", \"programFiles\": [\"subsys/net/l2/ethernet/gptp/gptp_mi.c\"], \"programRoutines\": [{\"name\": \"gptp_mi_qualify_announce\"}], \"versions\": [{\"version\": \"1.13.0\", \"status\": \"affected\", \"versionType\": \"semver\", \"lessThan\": \"4.4.2\"}]}], \"references\": [{\"url\": \"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/a2c882db7a57cf08a06b4d27bead22b07a9c3c61\", \"name\": \"Fix commit\", \"tags\": [\"patch\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-mgxg-89rr-6855\", \"name\": \"GHSA-mgxg-89rr-6855\"}], \"metrics\": [{\"format\": \"CVSS\", \"cvssV3_1\": {\"version\": \"3.1\", \"vectorString\": \"CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L\", \"baseScore\": 4.3, \"baseSeverity\": \"MEDIUM\"}}], \"problemTypes\": [{\"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"description\": \"bounds\", \"cweId\": \"CWE-125\", \"type\": \"CWE\"}]}], \"x_generator\": {\"engine\": \"cvelib 1.8.0\"}}, \"adp\": [{\"title\": \"CISA ADP Vulnrichment\", \"metrics\": [{\"other\": {\"type\": \"ssvc\", \"content\": {\"id\": \"CVE-2026-16514\", \"role\": \"CISA Coordinator\", \"options\": [{\"Exploitation\": \"none\"}, {\"Automatable\": \"no\"}, {\"Technical Impact\": \"partial\"}], \"version\": \"2.0.3\", \"timestamp\": \"2026-09-18T16:41:50.328879Z\"}}}], \"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\", \"shortName\": \"CISA-ADP\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-09-18T16:41:58.223Z\"}}]}",
      "cveMetadata": "{\"cveId\": \"CVE-2026-16514\", \"assignerOrgId\": \"e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad\", \"state\": \"PUBLISHED\", \"assignerShortName\": \"zephyr\", \"dateReserved\": \"2026-07-21T21:42:59.661Z\", \"datePublished\": \"2026-09-18T14:30:11.895Z\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-09-18T16:42:41.192Z\"}",
      "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
      "dataVersion": "5.2"
    }
  }
}


Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.




Sightings

Author Source Type Date

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.