Published At-14 Jul, 2026 | 15:16
Updated At-14 Jul, 2026 | 19:16
In Zephyr's kernel pipe implementation, the userspace syscall verifier z_vrfy_k_pipe_init() in kernel/pipe.c used K_SYSCALL_OBJ() (which requires the kernel object to already be initialized) instead of K_SYSCALL_OBJ_NEVER_INIT() (which rejects an already-initialized object). As a result, on CONFIG_USERSPACE builds an unprivileged user thread that has been granted access to a k_pipe object can invoke the k_pipe_init syscall to re-initialize a pipe that is already in use.
z_impl_k_pipe_init() unconditionally resets the ring buffer, sets pipe->waiting to 0, and re-initializes both wait queues (z_waitq_init on pipe->data and pipe->space) without waking or accounting for threads currently blocked on the pipe. Any thread already pended in k_pipe_read()/k_pipe_write() is left orphaned: still marked pending with pended_on pointing at the cleared wait queue and with stale qnode_dlist links into the (now re-initialized) embedded list head.
When such an orphaned waiter is later timed out or woken, the scheduler calls sys_dlist_remove() on its stale node, writing through dangling prev/next pointers into kernel wait-queue/scheduler structures, causing list corruption (an attacker-driven invalid kernel write), lost wakeups, indefinitely blocked threads, and silent data loss. The flaw lets a deprivileged user thread corrupt the state of a kernel object shared with other threads/partitions.
The fix switches the verifier to K_SYSCALL_OBJ_NEVER_INIT(), matching the existing k_msgq_init verifier, so a user thread can no longer re-initialize a live pipe. The vulnerable code shipped in v4.1.0 and remained through v4.4.0.
CISA Catalog
| Date Added | Due Date | Vulnerability Name | Required Action |
|---|
| N/A | | |
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Due Date: N/A
Vulnerability Name: N/A
Required Action: N/A
Metrics
| Type | Version | Base score | Base severity | Vector |
|---|
| Secondary | 3.1 | 7.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H |
| | | N/A | |
Type: Secondary
Version: 3.1
Base score: 7.1
Base severity: HIGH
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Type: N/A
Version:
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Weaknesses
| CWE ID | Type | Source |
|---|
| CWE-825 | Secondary | vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org |
Type: Secondary
Source: vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org
Change History
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