Zephyr Project up to 4.4.x Bluetooth Mesh subnet.c net_keys_create/subnet_keys_destroy denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as problematic has been found in Zephyr Project Zephyr up to 4.4.x. This affects the function net_keys_create/subnet_keys_destroy of the file subsys/bluetooth/mesh/subnet.c of the component Bluetooth Mesh. Executing a manipulation can lead to denial of service. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-10774. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Zephyr Project Zephyr up to 4.4.x. It has been declared as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function net_keys_create/subnet_keys_destroy of the file subsys/bluetooth/mesh/subnet.c of the component Bluetooth Mesh. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

Zephyr's Bluetooth Mesh subnet key management leaks one PSA Crypto key slot on every subnet-key teardown. In subsys/bluetooth/mesh/subnet.c, net_keys_create() imports the Private Beacon Key into a PSA key slot under CONFIG_BT_MESH_PRIV_BEACONS (enabled by default), but subnet_keys_destroy() guarded the matching psa_destroy_key() with CONFIG_BT_MESH_V1d1. That Kconfig symbol was removed when explicit Mesh 1.0.1 support was dropped, so the destroy branch became permanently dead code and the import is never balanced by a destroy. The imbalanced teardown is reached every time subnet keys are destroyed: deleting a subnet (Config Server NetKey Delete), completing a Key Refresh Procedure (which retires the old key set), and resetting/re-provisioning the node. The over-the-air triggers are processed only under the node's device key, so they are exercisable by the provisioner or network administrator that owns the node, reachable over the Bluetooth Mesh network. With the default CONFIG_MBEDTLS_PSA_KEY_SLOT_COUNT of 16, repeated add/delete or key-refresh cycles exhaust the shared PSA key-slot pool after roughly a dozen rounds. Once exhausted, bt_mesh_private_beacon_key() and thus subnet creation fail: the node can no longer add subnets or complete key refresh, and other PSA crypto consumers on the device may be starved, until the device is rebooted. The fix aligns the destroy guard with the import guard (CONFIG_BT_MESH_PRIV_BEACONS) so each slot is freed.

The advisory is shared for download at github.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-10774 since 06/03/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. The exploitation requires an enhanced level of successful authentication. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1499.

Upgrading to version 4.5.0 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-52002). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

• Project Management Software

Vendor

• Zephyr Project

Name

• Zephyr

Version

• 4.0
• 4.1
• 4.2
• 4.3
• 4.4

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VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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