Unbounded TX busy-loop DoS in Zephyr PL011 UART driver under CTS hardware flow control
CVSS score
4.6
EPSS probability
%0.2
Risk score
0.0
Published
3 mo ago
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Vulnerability description
DayBreach CVE AI Research
CVE-2026-10642 has vendor, distribution, patch and security-source records on file. We can compare them and prepare an explanation linked to the evidence.
The Zephyr PL011 UART driver (drivers/serial/uart_pl011.c) contains an unbounded software loop in pl011_irq_tx_enable() that repeatedly invokes the interrupt-driven application callback while the TX interrupt mask bit (PL011_IMSC_TXIM) is set, to work around the controller's level-transition TX-interrupt behavior. When CTS hardware flow control is enabled (devicetree hw-flow-control or runtime UART_CFG_FLOW_CTRL_RTS_CTS) and the wired serial peer de-asserts CTS, the controller stops draining the TX FIFO; pl011_fifo_fill() then returns 0 on every call while the application still has pending data and therefore never disables the TX interrupt. The loop condition never clears, so the thread that called uart_irq_tx_enable() (e.g. h4_send() in the Bluetooth HCI H4 driver) spins indefinitely, hanging the executing context and stalling the transport — a denial of service (CWE-835). An attacker controlling the device attached to the UART's CTS line can trigger the hang by withholding CTS during transmission. Because that peer is the device wired to the UART — which may be a removable or external module (e.g. an off-board Bluetooth controller on the HCI H4 link) rather than a permanently-bonded on-PCB part — the attack vector is scored Adjacent (AV:A) rather than Physical; the security subcommittee should confirm the vector against the specific deployment. Impact is availability only; there is no memory-safety, confidentiality, or integrity consequence. The vulnerable loop was introduced in commit b783bc8448ef (Feb 2025) and shipped in releases v4.1.0 through v4.4.0. The fix breaks out of the loop when CTS is blocking and arms the CTS modem-status interrupt to resume transmission when CTS re-asserts.
IMPACT: Affected Products and Software
RED HAT CSAF/VEX: Product Impact Check
SCORING: CVSS from Multiple Sources
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardised framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and display CVSS scores from several sources for each CVE.
| SCORE | VERSION | SEVERITY | VECTOR | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.6 | CVSS V31 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H | NVD |
| 4.6 | CVSS V3_1 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H | CVE CNA |
Patch and Remediation Guide
Solution & Remediation Advisory
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Public exploit and active exploitation status
Verified exploit intelligence
No verified public PoC, exploit repository or Metasploit module has been found for this CVE yet.
Weakness Classification and Attack Patterns (CWE & CAPEC)
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorises the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-10642 is associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-10642 weaknesses.
Attack Vector and Accessibility
Official Sources and Advisories
CVSS Vector Radar Chart
4.6 / 10Vulnerability Scoring Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HYama doğrulandı
Weakness Type (CWE & CAPEC)
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