CVE-2026-13213: memory-safety in zephyrproject zephyr
Description
The Hearing Access Service (HAS) GATT server in subsys/bluetooth/audio/has.c installs a connection-callback set unconditionally via BT_CONN_CB_DEFINE, so security_changed() runs for every connection that establishes security even before the application has called bt_has_register(). The service attribute pointers hearing_aid_features_attr, preset_control_point_attr, and active_preset_index_attr remain NULL until bt_has_register() resolves them and sets has.registered. With CONFIG_BT_SETTINGS, settings_set_cb() restores each bonded client's persisted context at boot and unconditionally sets context->flags to BONDED_CLIENT_INIT_FLAGS (non-zero). When a previously bonded peer reconnects and re-establishes security during the startup window before bt_has_register() has been called, security_changed() sees the non-zero flags and schedules notify_work_handler, which calls bt_gatt_is_subscribed() with a still-NULL attribute pointer. That triggers an assertion (__ASSERT(attr, ...) in bt_gatt_is_subscribed()), or a NULL dereference of attr->uuid when assertions are compiled out. The result is a remotely triggerable (Bluetooth, adjacent) crash of the HAS peripheral. Exploitation requires the peer to have previously bonded with the device and to reconnect within the boot-time race window before the application registers the service; a peer that reconnects persistently can prolong the outage. Impact is denial of service only, with no memory corruption or information disclosure. The fix adds an early if (!has.registered) { return; } guard in security_changed(), so no notification work is scheduled until the GATT service is registered and its attribute pointers are valid.
CVSS v3.1
Score 5.3medium
Affected software
zephyrproject
zephyr
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The Hearing Access Service (HAS) GATT server in Zephyr installs a connection callback that runs security_changed() for every connection establishing security, even before the application calls bt_has_register(). Since service attribute pointers are NULL until registration, a reconnecting bonded peer during the boot window triggers notify_work_handler, which calls bt_gatt_is_subscribed() with a NULL attribute pointer. This causes an assertion failure or NULL dereference, crashing the HAS peripheral. The vulnerability requires a previously bonded peer reconnecting within the startup race window and results in a remotely triggerable denial of service. The fix adds an early check in security_changed() to return if the service is not yet registered, preventing the crash.
Potential Impact
This vulnerability allows a remote attacker with a previously bonded Bluetooth connection to cause a denial of service by crashing the HAS peripheral during a specific boot-time window before the service is registered. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity, and no memory corruption occurs. The denial of service can be prolonged by persistent reconnection attempts from the bonded peer.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. The described fix adds a guard in security_changed() to prevent notification work before service registration, which addresses the issue. Until an official fix is available, avoid scenarios where bonded peers reconnect during the boot-time window before bt_has_register() is called.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- zephyr
- Date Reserved
- 2026-06-24T15:29:16.365Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a8c7de7acd9273b49e1b31d
Added to database: 08/24/2026, 17:22:47 UTC
Last enriched: 08/24/2026, 17:54:03 UTC
Last updated: 10/08/2026, 18:48:43 UTC
Views: 56
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