CVE-2026-14697 (GCVE-0-2026-14697)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-31 19:34 – Updated: 2026-09-01 13:58
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
IPv6 Neighbor Solicitation packet leak causes TX pool exhaustion denial of service
Summary
net_ipv6_send_ns() in subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c allocates a transmit net_pkt for a Neighbor Solicitation. When it is called with a data packet pending on an unresolved neighbor and that neighbor's pending_queue is already non-empty (an NS is already outstanding), the function appends the data packet and returns early without ever sending the NS via net_send_data() or releasing it with net_pkt_unref(). The freshly allocated NS net_pkt and its attached TX buffers are held only by a local variable and are leaked permanently, never returning to CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT / CONFIG_NET_BUF_TX_COUNT.
The leaking branch sits on the normal IPv6 transmit path: net_ipv6_prepare_for_send() (called from net_if.c) invokes net_ipv6_send_ns() for any outbound or forwarded IPv6 packet whose next hop is not yet in the neighbor cache. An on-link (adjacent) attacker can drive it deterministically by sending a burst of request packets (for example ICMPv6 echo requests or UDP datagrams) that all spoof a single non-existent on-link source address: the node generates a reply to each, the first reply queues an NS, and every subsequent reply during the roughly three-second INCOMPLETE resolution window takes the leaking branch and loses one TX packet. Router-configured nodes forwarding attacker traffic toward a non-existent on-link host leak identically.
Because the leaked packets are never reclaimed and CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT defaults to only 4 (14 for Ethernet), a brief low-rate burst exhausts the TX pool. Once exhausted the node can no longer allocate any transmit packet and cannot send TCP/UDP, ARP/ND, or any reply at all, producing a complete and persistent network denial of service that does not self-heal until reboot. The fix releases the unsent NS packet with net_pkt_unref(pkt) before the early return.
Severity
6.5 (Medium)
SSVC
Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical Impact: partial
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2026-09-01 13:58 UTC
CWE
- CWE-401 - dos
Assigner
References
2 references
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| zephyrproject | zephyr |
Affected:
4.3.0 , < 4.4.2
(semver)
|
guessed |
{
"containers": {
"adp": [
{
"metrics": [
{
"other": {
"content": {
"id": "CVE-2026-14697",
"options": [
{
"Exploitation": "none"
},
{
"Automatable": "no"
},
{
"Technical Impact": "partial"
}
],
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"timestamp": "2026-09-01T13:58:23.543324Z",
"version": "2.0.3"
},
"type": "ssvc"
}
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-01T13:58:34.969Z",
"orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"shortName": "CISA-ADP"
},
"title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
}
],
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"collectionURL": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr",
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"packageName": "zephyr",
"product": "zephyr",
"programFiles": [
"subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c"
],
"programRoutines": [
{
"name": "net_ipv6_send_ns"
}
],
"vendor": "zephyrproject",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "4.4.2",
"status": "affected",
"version": "4.3.0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "net_ipv6_send_ns() in subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c allocates a transmit net_pkt for a Neighbor Solicitation. When it is called with a data packet pending on an unresolved neighbor and that neighbor\u0027s pending_queue is already non-empty (an NS is already outstanding), the function appends the data packet and returns early without ever sending the NS via net_send_data() or releasing it with net_pkt_unref(). The freshly allocated NS net_pkt and its attached TX buffers are held only by a local variable and are leaked permanently, never returning to CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT / CONFIG_NET_BUF_TX_COUNT.\n\nThe leaking branch sits on the normal IPv6 transmit path: net_ipv6_prepare_for_send() (called from net_if.c) invokes net_ipv6_send_ns() for any outbound or forwarded IPv6 packet whose next hop is not yet in the neighbor cache. An on-link (adjacent) attacker can drive it deterministically by sending a burst of request packets (for example ICMPv6 echo requests or UDP datagrams) that all spoof a single non-existent on-link source address: the node generates a reply to each, the first reply queues an NS, and every subsequent reply during the roughly three-second INCOMPLETE resolution window takes the leaking branch and loses one TX packet. Router-configured nodes forwarding attacker traffic toward a non-existent on-link host leak identically.\n\nBecause the leaked packets are never reclaimed and CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT defaults to only 4 (14 for Ethernet), a brief low-rate burst exhausts the TX pool. Once exhausted the node can no longer allocate any transmit packet and cannot send TCP/UDP, ARP/ND, or any reply at all, producing a complete and persistent network denial of service that does not self-heal until reboot. The fix releases the unsent NS packet with net_pkt_unref(pkt) before the early return."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"baseScore": 6.5,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
},
"format": "CVSS"
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-401",
"description": "dos",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-31T19:34:49.586Z",
"orgId": "e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad",
"shortName": "zephyr"
},
"references": [
{
"name": "Fix commit",
"tags": [
"patch"
],
"url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/ab2670e8b5b8fcde4a699dd5cbe452abbd233289"
},
{
"name": "GHSA-x956-p489-8mf5",
"url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-x956-p489-8mf5"
}
],
"title": "IPv6 Neighbor Solicitation packet leak causes TX pool exhaustion denial of service",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "cvelib 1.8.0"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad",
"assignerShortName": "zephyr",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-14697",
"datePublished": "2026-08-31T19:34:49.586Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-07-04T05:18:35.366Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-01T13:58:34.969Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2026-14697",
"date": "2026-09-01",
"epss": "0.00175",
"percentile": "0.07034"
},
"nvd": "{\"cve\":{\"id\":\"CVE-2026-14697\",\"sourceIdentifier\":\"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org\",\"published\":\"2026-08-31T20:17:03.253\",\"lastModified\":\"2026-09-01T14:17:24.833\",\"vulnStatus\":\"Received\",\"cveTags\":[],\"descriptions\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"net_ipv6_send_ns() in subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c allocates a transmit net_pkt for a Neighbor Solicitation. When it is called with a data packet pending on an unresolved neighbor and that neighbor\u0027s pending_queue is already non-empty (an NS is already outstanding), the function appends the data packet and returns early without ever sending the NS via net_send_data() or releasing it with net_pkt_unref(). The freshly allocated NS net_pkt and its attached TX buffers are held only by a local variable and are leaked permanently, never returning to CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT / CONFIG_NET_BUF_TX_COUNT.\\n\\nThe leaking branch sits on the normal IPv6 transmit path: net_ipv6_prepare_for_send() (called from net_if.c) invokes net_ipv6_send_ns() for any outbound or forwarded IPv6 packet whose next hop is not yet in the neighbor cache. An on-link (adjacent) attacker can drive it deterministically by sending a burst of request packets (for example ICMPv6 echo requests or UDP datagrams) that all spoof a single non-existent on-link source address: the node generates a reply to each, the first reply queues an NS, and every subsequent reply during the roughly three-second INCOMPLETE resolution window takes the leaking branch and loses one TX packet. Router-configured nodes forwarding attacker traffic toward a non-existent on-link host leak identically.\\n\\nBecause the leaked packets are never reclaimed and CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT defaults to only 4 (14 for Ethernet), a brief low-rate burst exhausts the TX pool. Once exhausted the node can no longer allocate any transmit packet and cannot send TCP/UDP, ARP/ND, or any reply at all, producing a complete and persistent network denial of service that does not self-heal until reboot. The fix releases the unsent NS packet with net_pkt_unref(pkt) before the early return.\"}],\"affected\":[{\"source\":\"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org\",\"affectedData\":[{\"vendor\":\"zephyrproject\",\"product\":\"zephyr\",\"defaultStatus\":\"unaffected\",\"collectionURL\":\"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr\",\"packageName\":\"zephyr\",\"programFiles\":[\"subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c\"],\"programRoutines\":[{\"name\":\"net_ipv6_send_ns\"}],\"versions\":[{\"version\":\"4.3.0\",\"lessThan\":\"4.4.2\",\"versionType\":\"semver\",\"status\":\"affected\"}]}]}],\"metrics\":{\"cvssMetricV31\":[{\"source\":\"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org\",\"type\":\"Secondary\",\"cvssData\":{\"version\":\"3.1\",\"vectorString\":\"CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H\",\"baseScore\":6.5,\"baseSeverity\":\"MEDIUM\",\"attackVector\":\"ADJACENT_NETWORK\",\"attackComplexity\":\"LOW\",\"privilegesRequired\":\"NONE\",\"userInteraction\":\"NONE\",\"scope\":\"UNCHANGED\",\"confidentialityImpact\":\"NONE\",\"integrityImpact\":\"NONE\",\"availabilityImpact\":\"HIGH\"},\"exploitabilityScore\":2.8,\"impactScore\":3.6}],\"ssvcV203\":[{\"source\":\"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\",\"ssvcData\":{\"timestamp\":\"2026-09-01T13:58:23.543324Z\",\"id\":\"CVE-2026-14697\",\"options\":[{\"exploitation\":\"none\"},{\"automatable\":\"no\"},{\"technicalImpact\":\"partial\"}],\"role\":\"CISA Coordinator\",\"version\":\"2.0.3\"}}]},\"weaknesses\":[{\"source\":\"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org\",\"type\":\"Secondary\",\"description\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"CWE-401\"}]}],\"references\":[{\"url\":\"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/ab2670e8b5b8fcde4a699dd5cbe452abbd233289\",\"source\":\"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org\"},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-x956-p489-8mf5\",\"source\":\"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org\"}]}}",
"vulnrichment": {
"containers": "{\"cna\": {\"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad\", \"shortName\": \"zephyr\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-08-31T19:34:49.586Z\"}, \"title\": \"IPv6 Neighbor Solicitation packet leak causes TX pool exhaustion denial of service\", \"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"value\": \"net_ipv6_send_ns() in subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c allocates a transmit net_pkt for a Neighbor Solicitation. When it is called with a data packet pending on an unresolved neighbor and that neighbor\u0027s pending_queue is already non-empty (an NS is already outstanding), the function appends the data packet and returns early without ever sending the NS via net_send_data() or releasing it with net_pkt_unref(). The freshly allocated NS net_pkt and its attached TX buffers are held only by a local variable and are leaked permanently, never returning to CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT / CONFIG_NET_BUF_TX_COUNT.\\n\\nThe leaking branch sits on the normal IPv6 transmit path: net_ipv6_prepare_for_send() (called from net_if.c) invokes net_ipv6_send_ns() for any outbound or forwarded IPv6 packet whose next hop is not yet in the neighbor cache. An on-link (adjacent) attacker can drive it deterministically by sending a burst of request packets (for example ICMPv6 echo requests or UDP datagrams) that all spoof a single non-existent on-link source address: the node generates a reply to each, the first reply queues an NS, and every subsequent reply during the roughly three-second INCOMPLETE resolution window takes the leaking branch and loses one TX packet. Router-configured nodes forwarding attacker traffic toward a non-existent on-link host leak identically.\\n\\nBecause the leaked packets are never reclaimed and CONFIG_NET_PKT_TX_COUNT defaults to only 4 (14 for Ethernet), a brief low-rate burst exhausts the TX pool. Once exhausted the node can no longer allocate any transmit packet and cannot send TCP/UDP, ARP/ND, or any reply at all, producing a complete and persistent network denial of service that does not self-heal until reboot. The fix releases the unsent NS packet with net_pkt_unref(pkt) before the early return.\"}], \"affected\": [{\"vendor\": \"zephyrproject\", \"product\": \"zephyr\", \"collectionURL\": \"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr\", \"packageName\": \"zephyr\", \"defaultStatus\": \"unaffected\", \"programFiles\": [\"subsys/net/ip/ipv6_nbr.c\"], \"programRoutines\": [{\"name\": \"net_ipv6_send_ns\"}], \"versions\": [{\"version\": \"4.3.0\", \"status\": \"affected\", \"versionType\": \"semver\", \"lessThan\": \"4.4.2\"}]}], \"references\": [{\"url\": \"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/ab2670e8b5b8fcde4a699dd5cbe452abbd233289\", \"name\": \"Fix commit\", \"tags\": [\"patch\"]}, {\"url\": \"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-x956-p489-8mf5\", \"name\": \"GHSA-x956-p489-8mf5\"}], \"metrics\": [{\"format\": \"CVSS\", \"cvssV3_1\": {\"version\": \"3.1\", \"vectorString\": \"CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H\", \"baseScore\": 6.5, \"baseSeverity\": \"MEDIUM\"}}], \"problemTypes\": [{\"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"description\": \"dos\", \"cweId\": \"CWE-401\", \"type\": \"CWE\"}]}], \"x_generator\": {\"engine\": \"cvelib 1.8.0\"}}, \"adp\": [{\"title\": \"CISA ADP Vulnrichment\", \"metrics\": [{\"other\": {\"type\": \"ssvc\", \"content\": {\"id\": \"CVE-2026-14697\", \"role\": \"CISA Coordinator\", \"options\": [{\"Exploitation\": \"none\"}, {\"Automatable\": \"no\"}, {\"Technical Impact\": \"partial\"}], \"version\": \"2.0.3\", \"timestamp\": \"2026-09-01T13:58:23.543324Z\"}}}], \"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\", \"shortName\": \"CISA-ADP\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-09-01T13:58:28.884Z\"}}]}",
"cveMetadata": "{\"cveId\": \"CVE-2026-14697\", \"assignerOrgId\": \"e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad\", \"state\": \"PUBLISHED\", \"assignerShortName\": \"zephyr\", \"dateReserved\": \"2026-07-04T05:18:35.366Z\", \"datePublished\": \"2026-08-31T19:34:49.586Z\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-09-01T13:58:34.969Z\"}",
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
}
}
Loading…
Loading…
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Loading…
The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Loading…
Loading…