CVE-2026-1579

9.8

CRITICAL CVSS 3.1

PX4 Autopilot Missing authentication for critical function

Overview

Description

The MAVLink communication protocol does not require cryptographic authentication by default. When MAVLink 2.0 message signing is not enabled, any message -- including SERIAL_CONTROL, which provides interactive shell access -- can be sent by an unauthenticated party with access to the MAVLink interface. PX4 provides MAVLink 2.0 message signing as the cryptographic authentication mechanism for all MAVLink communication. When signing is enabled, unsigned messages are rejected at the protocol level.

Details

INFO

Published Date :

March 31, 2026, 9:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

April 7, 2026, 3:33 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

[email protected]

Impact

Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-1579 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID	Vendor	Product	Action
1	Px4	autopilot

: Total Affected Vendor : 1 | Products : 1

Scoring

CVSS Scores

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.

Version	Severity	Source
CVSS 3.1	CRITICAL	7d14cffa-0d7d-4270-9dc0-52cabd5a23a6
CVSS 3.1	CRITICAL	[email protected]
CVSS 4.0	CRITICAL	7d14cffa-0d7d-4270-9dc0-52cabd5a23a6
CVSS 4.0	CRITICAL	[email protected]

Solution

Enable MAVLink 2.0 message signing for cryptographic authentication.

Enable MAVLink 2.0 message signing.
Configure cryptographic authentication for MAVLink.
Reject unsigned MAVLink messages at protocol level.

Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github

CVE-2026-1579 has a 2 public PoC/Exploit available at Github. Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.

References

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-1579.

URL	Resource
https://docs.px4.io/main/en/mavlink/message_signing	Product
https://docs.px4.io/main/en/mavlink/security_hardening	Product
https://github.com/cisagov/CSAF/blob/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2026/icsa-26-090-02.json	Third Party Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-26-090-02	Third Party Advisory US Government Resource

CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-1579 is associated with the following CWEs:

CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-1579 weaknesses.

CAPEC-12: Choosing Message Identifier Choosing Message Identifier CAPEC-36: Using Unpublished Interfaces or Functionality Using Unpublished Interfaces or Functionality CAPEC-62: Cross Site Request Forgery Cross Site Request Forgery CAPEC-166: Force the System to Reset Values Force the System to Reset Values CAPEC-216: Communication Channel Manipulation Communication Channel Manipulation

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Neoxyber/neoxyber-qsag

Quantum-Secure Autonomous Gateway. The control plane for AI agents, automation and robotics.

ai-agents ai-governance ai-security autonomous-systems fastapi governance mcp-security python quantum-cryptography robotics

Python Dockerfile HTML Shell JavaScript

Updated: 1 week ago

0 stars 0 fork 0 watcher

Born at : April 3, 2026, 11:24 a.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

Notgizmo1/NEMESIS

Autonomous counter-UAS interceptor platform — YOLOv8 vision, formation flying, ArduPilot + PX4, ROS2/MAVROS, NIST 800-171 aligned | Forge & Flight Labs LLC

ardupilot autonomous-systems computer-vision counter-uas defense-tech drone-detection mavlink px4 raspberry-pi ros2 yolov8 ndaa-compliant

Python Shell

Updated: 2 weeks ago

0 stars 0 fork 0 watcher

Born at : April 1, 2026, 12:15 p.m. This repo has been linked 1 different CVEs too.

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-1579 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

CybersecurityNews

Critical PX4 Autopilot Vulnerability Let Attackers Gain Control Over the Drones

A newly discovered critical vulnerability in the widely used PX4 Autopilot software could allow malicious actors to take complete control over drone operations. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Se ...

Published Date: Apr 02, 2026 (2 weeks, 5 days ago)

Daily CyberSecurity

Ghost in the Drone: Unauthenticated Shell Access in PX4 Autopilot’s 9.8 CVSS Nightmare

A critical security advisory has been issued for the PX4 Autopilot system. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-1579, carries a CVSS score of 9.8, highlighting a “nightmare scenario” for unhardened ...

Published Date: Apr 01, 2026 (2 weeks, 5 days ago)

Results are limited to the first 20 news articles due to potential performance issues.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-1579 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

Initial Analysis by [email protected]

Apr. 07, 2026

Action	Type	New Value
Added	CPE Configuration	OR cpe:2.3:a:px4:autopilot:1.16.0:::::::
Added	Reference Type	ICS-CERT: https://docs.px4.io/main/en/mavlink/message_signing Types: Product
Added	Reference Type	ICS-CERT: https://docs.px4.io/main/en/mavlink/security_hardening Types: Product
Added	Reference Type	ICS-CERT: https://github.com/cisagov/CSAF/blob/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2026/icsa-26-090-02.json Types: Third Party Advisory
Added	Reference Type	ICS-CERT: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-26-090-02 Types: Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource

New CVE Received by [email protected]

Mar. 31, 2026

Action	Type	New Value
Added	Description	The MAVLink communication protocol does not require cryptographic authentication by default. When MAVLink 2.0 message signing is not enabled, any message -- including SERIAL_CONTROL, which provides interactive shell access -- can be sent by an unauthenticated party with access to the MAVLink interface. PX4 provides MAVLink 2.0 message signing as the cryptographic authentication mechanism for all MAVLink communication. When signing is enabled, unsigned messages are rejected at the protocol level.
Added	CVSS V4.0	AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Added	CVSS V3.1	AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Added	CWE	CWE-306
Added	Reference	https://docs.px4.io/main/en/mavlink/message_signing
Added	Reference	https://docs.px4.io/main/en/mavlink/security_hardening
Added	Reference	https://github.com/cisagov/CSAF/blob/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2026/icsa-26-090-02.json
Added	Reference	https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-26-090-02

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.