Flight-controller crash via MAVLink shell race
Published Mar 13, 2026 · Updated Mar 13, 2026
Heap use-after-free in PX4 Autopilot before 1.17.0-rc1 allows remote attackers on a MAVLink link to crash the flight controller. The receiver thread deletes the shared MavlinkShell after a SERIAL_CONTROL message clears RESPOND while the sender thread dereferences it in available(). Exploitation requires winning that race; observed effects include crashes, memory corruption, and nondeterministic behavior, not demonstrated code execution.
Summary
What happened
Heap use-after-free in PX4 Autopilot before 1.17.0-rc1 allows remote attackers on a MAVLink link to crash the flight controller. The receiver thread deletes the shared MavlinkShell after a SERIAL_CONTROL message clears RESPOND while the sender thread dereferences it in available(). Exploitation requires winning that race; observed effects include crashes, memory corruption, and nondeterministic behavior, not demonstrated code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-32724
- Published
- Mar 13, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 13, 2026
- Vendor
- PX4
- Product
- PX4 Autopilot
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 13, 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.17.0-rc1
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.
Public exploit references
- SERIAL_CONTROL race-condition proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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