CVE-2026-16511
Unvalidated user pointers in RTIO syscall verifiers allow a user-mode thread to write kernel memory
Description
Two RTIO syscall verifiers, in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0), did not validate user-supplied pointers before the kernel wrote through them. z_vrfy_rtio_sqe_cancel() performed no validation at all. It passed the caller's struct rtio_sqe pointer straight to z_impl_rtio_sqe_cancel(), which converts it with CONTAINER_OF to a struct rtio_iodev_sqe, ORs RTIO_SQE_CANCELED (BIT(3)) into its 16-bit flags field in supervisor mode, then loads its next pointer and repeats until that pointer is NULL. The syscall takes no RTIO context argument, so it needs no object grant: any user-mode thread on a CONFIG_USERSPACE build can set that bit in a 16-bit word at an address of its choosing in kernel memory, and the kernel continues the write along whatever pointer chain it finds at the corresponding offset. Setting chosen bits in kernel data structures, such as object permission or thread state fields, can be used to escalate privilege from user mode. z_vrfy_rtio_sqe_copy_in_get_handles() validated its RTIO context and the input SQE array, but only NULL-checked the handle out-parameter before writing a kernel SQE pointer through it, with no K_SYSCALL_MEMORY_WRITE check. A user thread that holds a granted RTIO context can therefore make the kernel store a pointer value at an arbitrary address. The fixes validate the handle out-parameter as writable, bound the cancel handle to real submission-pool storage, and require permission on the RTIO context that owns the matching pool. Without that last check a bounded handle still let any user thread cancel submissions belonging to other contexts, silently aborting their I/O. Systems built without CONFIG_USERSPACE or without CONFIG_RTIO are unaffected.
INFO
Published Date :
Nov. 4, 2026, 6:17 a.m.
Last Modified :
Nov. 4, 2026, 6:17 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-16511
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.
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Validate RTIO context and SQE array pointers.
- Check write permissions on out-parameters.
- Bound cancel handles to pool storage.
- Require permission for RTIO context ownership.
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-2026-16511.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-16511 is
associated with the following CWEs:
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-2026-16511
weaknesses.
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).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-16511 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-16511 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.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Nov. 04, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Two RTIO syscall verifiers, in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0), did not validate user-supplied pointers before the kernel wrote through them. z_vrfy_rtio_sqe_cancel() performed no validation at all. It passed the caller's struct rtio_sqe pointer straight to z_impl_rtio_sqe_cancel(), which converts it with CONTAINER_OF to a struct rtio_iodev_sqe, ORs RTIO_SQE_CANCELED (BIT(3)) into its 16-bit flags field in supervisor mode, then loads its next pointer and repeats until that pointer is NULL. The syscall takes no RTIO context argument, so it needs no object grant: any user-mode thread on a CONFIG_USERSPACE build can set that bit in a 16-bit word at an address of its choosing in kernel memory, and the kernel continues the write along whatever pointer chain it finds at the corresponding offset. Setting chosen bits in kernel data structures, such as object permission or thread state fields, can be used to escalate privilege from user mode. z_vrfy_rtio_sqe_copy_in_get_handles() validated its RTIO context and the input SQE array, but only NULL-checked the handle out-parameter before writing a kernel SQE pointer through it, with no K_SYSCALL_MEMORY_WRITE check. A user thread that holds a granted RTIO context can therefore make the kernel store a pointer value at an arbitrary address. The fixes validate the handle out-parameter as writable, bound the cancel handle to real submission-pool storage, and require permission on the RTIO context that owns the matching pool. Without that last check a bounded handle still let any user thread cancel submissions belonging to other contexts, silently aborting their I/O. Systems built without CONFIG_USERSPACE or without CONFIG_RTIO are unaffected. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-787 Added CWE CWE-822 Added CWE CWE-862 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/16xxx/CVE-2026-16511.json">CVE-2026-16511</a> Added Reference https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/3f244c1709ec0be533ed83d34998e942fc4da399 Added Reference https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/95c355c425763fbe5e735b9ef54dacce2c4ce21f Added Reference https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/b1092a0aa7fbe67118ca4b08d5b4e54b34709a6e Added Reference https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-3rh4-hpgj-jrww