CVE-2026-9771Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via forged device pointers

Published Aug 17, 2026 · Updated Aug 17, 2026

Privilege escalation in Zephyr RTOS before 4.4.2 allows local users to execute kernel code via forged flash_copy() device pointers. In drivers/flash/flash_util.c, z_vrfy_flash_copy() checks only the caller's output buffer and forwards user-controlled src_dev and dst_dev pointers into z_impl_flash_copy(), which dereferences them and calls their driver API tables in supervisor mode. Exploitation requires CONFIG_USERSPACE and a local user-mode thread; a forged struct device can escape the userspace sandbox, while invalid pointers can instead crash the kernel or expose out-of-bounds reads.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Zephyr RTOS before 4.4.2 allows local users to execute kernel code via forged flash_copy() device pointers. In drivers/flash/flash_util.c, z_vrfy_flash_copy() checks only the caller's output buffer and forwards user-controlled src_dev and dst_dev pointers into z_impl_flash_copy(), which dereferences them and calls their driver API tables in supervisor mode. Exploitation requires CONFIG_USERSPACE and a local user-mode thread; a forged struct device can escape the userspace sandbox, while invalid pointers can instead crash the kernel or expose out-of-bounds reads.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-9771
Published
Aug 17, 2026
Updated
Aug 17, 2026
Vendor
Zephyr Project
Product
Zephyr RTOS
Classifications
CWE-862, CWE-822, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 17, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.4.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Zephyr Project · Zephyr RTOSversion=4.0.0 <4.4.2

Published CVSS scores

8.8Zephyr ProjectCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-862Missing Authorization
CWE-822Untrusted Pointer Dereference
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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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