Hang via CTS-blocked TX busy-loop
Published Jun 24, 2026 · Updated Jun 24, 2026
Infinite loop in the PL011 UART driver in Zephyr RTOS 4.1.0 through 4.4.1 allows physically proximate attackers to hang the executing context. The pl011_irq_tx_enable() loop keeps invoking the application callback while TXIM remains set, but a full FIFO makes pl011_fifo_fill() return zero without clearing that bit. CTS hardware flow control must be enabled, and a wired UART peer must withhold CTS during transmission; the result is an availability-only hang.
Summary
What happened
Infinite loop in the PL011 UART driver in Zephyr RTOS 4.1.0 through 4.4.1 allows physically proximate attackers to hang the executing context. The pl011_irq_tx_enable() loop keeps invoking the application callback while TXIM remains set, but a full FIFO makes pl011_fifo_fill() return zero without clearing that bit. CTS hardware flow control must be enabled, and a wired UART peer must withhold CTS during transmission; the result is an availability-only hang.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-10642
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 24, 2026
- Vendor
- Zephyr Project
- Product
- Zephyr RTOS
- Classifications
- CWE-835, T1499
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.1.0 <4.5.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo