6.4
MEDIUM CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-9728
TOCTOU race in mbox_send syscall verifier allows userspace to leak kernel memory
Description

The userspace syscall verifier z_vrfy_mbox_send() in drivers/mbox/mbox_handlers.c validated the nested msg->data/msg->size fields by reading them directly out of live userspace memory, and then forwarded the original, still-mutable userspace struct mbox_msg * pointer to z_impl_mbox_send() and the underlying driver. Between the access check and the driver's use of msg->data, the validated pointer could be replaced, leaving a time-of-check/time-of-use window. On a system built with CONFIG_USERSPACE, any unprivileged userspace thread may invoke the mbox_send() system call. A second thread sharing the caller's address space can race to overwrite msg->data with a supervisor (kernel) address after the verifier's bounds check has passed but before the driver dereferences it. The driver then reads from the attacker-chosen address in supervisor context (for example memcpy(&data32, msg->data, msg->size) in the NXP mailbox driver, whose bytes are subsequently emitted to the peer mailbox endpoint). The impact is a userspace-to-supervisor access-control bypass: disclosure of kernel memory contents (high confidentiality impact), or, for an invalid/unmapped target address, a faulting kernel read causing denial of service. The fix snapshots the entire struct mbox_msg into a kernel-stack copy with k_usermode_from_copy() and validates and forwards that immutable copy, closing the race.

INFO

Published Date :

Aug. 24, 2026, 3:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 12, 2026, 3:10 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-9728 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 Zephyrproject zephyr
2 Zephyrproject zephyr
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.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM e2e69745-5e70-4e92-8431-deb5529a81ad
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM [email protected]
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM MITRE-CVE
Solution
Patch the vulnerability to prevent TOCTOU race conditions in mbox_send().
  • Snapshot the struct mbox_msg into kernel stack copy.
  • Validate and forward the immutable copy.
  • Apply vendor patches for the mailbox driver.
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-2026-9728.

URL Resource
https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/ab35eaccec5976f05c196f176d0c32885754496f
https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-47q2-w832-7w67
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-9728 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-2026-9728 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-2026-9728 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-9728 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.

  • CVE Translated by [email protected]

    Oct. 12, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Translation Title: zephyr de zephyrproject, Description: El verificador de llamadas al sistema de espacio de usuario z_vrfy_mbox_send() en drivers/mbox/mbox_handlers.c validó los campos anidados msg -> data/msg -> size leyéndolos directamente de la memoria activa del espacio de usuario, y luego reenvió el puntero original, aún mutable, de la estructura mbox_msg * del espacio de usuario a z_impl_mbox_send() y al controlador subyacente. Entre la verificación de acceso y el uso de msg -> data por parte del controlador, el puntero validado podría ser reemplazado, dejando una ventana de tiempo de verificación/tiempo de uso. En un sistema construido con CONFIG_USERSPACE, cualquier hilo de espacio de usuario sin privilegios puede invocar la llamada al sistema mbox_send(). Un segundo hilo que comparte el espacio de direcciones del llamante puede competir para sobrescribir msg -> data con una dirección de supervisor (kernel) después de que la verificación de límites del verificador haya pasado pero antes de que el controlador lo desreferencie. El controlador luego lee de la dirección elegida por el atacante en contexto de supervisor (por ejemplo, memcpy(&data32, msg -> data, msg -> size) en el controlador de buzón NXP, cuyos bytes se emiten posteriormente al punto final del buzón par). El impacto es una omisión de control de acceso de espacio de usuario a supervisor: divulgación de contenidos de memoria del kernel (alto impacto en la confidencialidad), o, para una dirección de destino inválida/no mapeada, una lectura de kernel con fallo que causa denegación de servicio. La solución captura la estructura mbox_msg completa en una copia de pila del kernel con k_usermode_from_copy() y valida y reenvía esa copia inmutable, cerrando la condición de carrera.
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Aug. 25, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-9728', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-08-25T19:06:27.362976Z'}
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Aug. 24, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'vendor': 'zephyrproject', 'product': 'zephyr', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '3.0.0', 'lessThan': '4.4.2', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'packageName': 'zephyr', 'programFiles': ['drivers/mbox/mbox_handlers.c'], 'collectionURL': 'https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}]
    Added Description The userspace syscall verifier z_vrfy_mbox_send() in drivers/mbox/mbox_handlers.c validated the nested msg->data/msg->size fields by reading them directly out of live userspace memory, and then forwarded the original, still-mutable userspace struct mbox_msg * pointer to z_impl_mbox_send() and the underlying driver. Between the access check and the driver's use of msg->data, the validated pointer could be replaced, leaving a time-of-check/time-of-use window. On a system built with CONFIG_USERSPACE, any unprivileged userspace thread may invoke the mbox_send() system call. A second thread sharing the caller's address space can race to overwrite msg->data with a supervisor (kernel) address after the verifier's bounds check has passed but before the driver dereferences it. The driver then reads from the attacker-chosen address in supervisor context (for example memcpy(&data32, msg->data, msg->size) in the NXP mailbox driver, whose bytes are subsequently emitted to the peer mailbox endpoint). The impact is a userspace-to-supervisor access-control bypass: disclosure of kernel memory contents (high confidentiality impact), or, for an invalid/unmapped target address, a faulting kernel read causing denial of service. The fix snapshots the entire struct mbox_msg into a kernel-stack copy with k_usermode_from_copy() and validates and forwards that immutable copy, closing the race.
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L
    Added CWE CWE-367
    Added Reference https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/ab35eaccec5976f05c196f176d0c32885754496f
    Added Reference https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-47q2-w832-7w67
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.