Kernel memory corruption via delayable-work cancellation race
Published Aug 14, 2026 · Updated Aug 14, 2026
Use-after-free in the Zephyr RTOS work queue 2.6.0 through 4.4.2 allows local users to corrupt kernel memory or crash the system. In kernel/work.c, unschedule_locked() treats an announcing timeout as canceled without waiting, so work_timeout() later reads and modifies a freed delayable-work record. Reachability requires an SMP build, low-privileged local access, and a subsystem teardown timed while the timeout handler is blocked on the work-queue spinlock.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Zephyr RTOS work queue 2.6.0 through 4.4.2 allows local users to corrupt kernel memory or crash the system. In kernel/work.c, unschedule_locked() treats an announcing timeout as canceled without waiting, so work_timeout() later reads and modifies a freed delayable-work record. Reachability requires an SMP build, low-privileged local access, and a subsystem teardown timed while the timeout handler is blocked on the work-queue spinlock.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-12365
- Published
- Aug 14, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 14, 2026
- Vendor
- Zephyr Project
- Product
- Zephyr RTOS
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 14, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=2.6.0 <4.5.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
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Your stack
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