CVE-2026-13735: auth in zephyrproject zephyr
Description
Zephyr's WireGuard implementation in subsys/net/lib/wireguard/wg_crypto.c mishandled keepalive packets. In wg_process_data_message(), any type-4 transport-data message whose payload was exactly 16 bytes (an empty plaintext plus a bare Poly1305 tag, i.e. a keepalive) was accepted and returned immediately, before wg_decrypt_packet() was ever called. The Poly1305 authentication tag was therefore never verified; the only preceding gates were a cleartext receiver-index lookup (get_peer_keypair_for_index() on the attacker-supplied data_hdr->receiver) and a non-cryptographic keypair validity/expiry check. The path is reachable entirely from the network: inbound UDP on the WireGuard port is dispatched by wg_input() to handle_transport_data() and then wg_process_data_message(). The 32-bit receiver index is transmitted in cleartext in WireGuard handshake and data messages, so an on-path observer learns it directly and an off-path attacker can brute-force it against the UDP port. Given an active receiving-valid session for that index, an attacker could send a 16-byte garbage payload and have it accepted without possessing the session key. On acceptance the unauthenticated message caused the management layer to observe a spoofed NET_EVENT_VPN_CONNECTED signal (setting peer->first_valid and notifying any net_mgmt listener) and incremented the keepalive-RX statistic. The impact is limited to integrity of this status signal: no plaintext is decrypted or injected, no key is disclosed, and the early-return path did not update the peer endpoint or liveness timers, so there is no traffic-injection, session-takeover, or availability consequence. The fix removes the pre-decrypt early return so a 16-byte payload flows through wg_decrypt_packet(), which verifies the Poly1305 tag over the empty plaintext, followed by the existing anti-replay check; only an authenticated, non-replayed message is then recognised as a keepalive. Forged keepalives now fail the tag check and are counted as decrypt failures.
CVSS v3.1
Score 3.7low
Affected software
zephyrproject
zephyr
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AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Zephyr's WireGuard implementation in subsys/net/lib/wireguard/wg_crypto.c improperly handled type-4 transport-data messages with exactly 16-byte payloads (empty plaintext plus Poly1305 tag) by accepting them immediately without calling wg_decrypt_packet() to verify the Poly1305 tag. This allowed an attacker with knowledge or brute-force capability of the receiver index to send unauthenticated keepalive packets that were accepted, causing the management layer to observe a spoofed NET_EVENT_VPN_CONNECTED signal and increment keepalive-RX statistics. No plaintext decryption, key disclosure, traffic injection, session takeover, or availability impact occurred. The fix removes the early return so that such packets are properly authenticated and replay-checked, with forged keepalives failing the tag check and counted as decrypt failures.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability impacts the integrity of the VPN connection status signal by allowing spoofed keepalive packets to be accepted without authentication. However, it does not compromise confidentiality, as no plaintext is decrypted or injected, no keys are disclosed, and session availability is unaffected. There is no risk of traffic injection, session takeover, or denial of service from this issue.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. The described fix removes the early return in the code path to ensure all keepalive packets are authenticated via Poly1305 tag verification and anti-replay checks. Until an official patch or update is available, monitor vendor communications for updates.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- zephyr
- Date Reserved
- 2026-06-29T14:44:09.848Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 6a9206c1acd9273b4963cdf4
Added to database: 08/28/2026, 22:08:01 UTC
Last enriched: 09/07/2026, 15:06:34 UTC
Last updated: 10/13/2026, 18:48:17 UTC
Views: 92
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