CVE-2026-19737: zephyr NULL Pointer Dereference (CVSS 5.5)

Description

i2s_esp32_trigger_check() in drivers/i2s/i2s_esp32.c validates the requested direction only for I2S_DIR_BOTH. The I2S_DIR_RX and I2S_DIR_TX branches read dev_cfg->rx.data->configured / dev_cfg->tx.data->configured without first checking the stream pointers. The device instantiation macro I2S_ESP32_STREAM_INIT() sets both .conf and .data to NULL for a direction the devicetree does not describe, so on an instance that wires only one direction — the normal shape for audio output or a worldsemi,ws2812-i2s LED strip — the other direction dereferences a NULL pointer instead of returning an error. i2s_trigger() is a Zephyr syscall, and z_vrfy_i2s_trigger() in drivers/i2s/i2s_handlers.c validates only the device object and the presence of the trigger API pointer; the dir argument is passed to the driver unvalidated. On a build with CONFIG_USERSPACE enabled, a user-mode thread that has been granted the I2S device can issue a single i2s_trigger() call naming the unwired direction and cause a load from address 0 in kernel mode. Among the Espressif parts that carry this driver, userspace is available in-tree only on RISC-V SoCs with CONFIG_RISCV_PMP, and v4.4.0 is the first release where that is buildable: the ESP32-C6 HPCORE selects RISCV_PMP when it is not built for MCUboot. ESP32-C5 in v4.4.x carries the same PMP-region and userspace linker support but does not select RISCV_PMP by default. Espressif Xtensa targets do not support Zephyr userspace, and in a non-userspace build the bad direction can only come from in-kernel application code. The impact is limited to availability: the access is a read at offset 0 of the missing stream structure, so there is no attacker-controlled offset, no write primitive and no information disclosure. With the default fatal-error handler the resulting exception halts the system, giving an unprivileged user-mode thread a system-wide denial of service. The fix adds the same pointer check the I2S_DIR_BOTH branch already performed and returns -ENOSYS for a direction the instance does not implement; the driver's other entry points (i2s_esp32_config_check(), i2s_esp32_config_get(), i2s_esp32_read(), i2s_esp32_write()) already guarded the pointers, and a static audit found no equivalent unguarded path. The driver defect is older than the affected range. The unguarded dereference is present from v4.2.0 (reached through i2s_esp32_trigger_stream(), whose if (stream) guard tests the address of a struct member and is never false) and takes its present i2s_esp32_trigger_check() form in v4.3.0. No in-tree Espressif configuration before v4.4.0 can run a user-mode thread, so in v4.2.x and v4.3.x the direction argument can only come from trusted kernel code. Those releases carry the bug but are not listed as affected; the fix has also been merged to v4.3-branch as hardening.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.10%

0.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-476

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

Vendor	Product	Versions
zephyrproject	zephyr	>= 4.4.0, < 4.5.0

References

Timeline

Published: Oct 11, 2026
Last Modified: Oct 16, 2026
Status: Awaiting Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-19737?

i2s_esp32_trigger_check() in drivers/i2s/i2s_esp32.c validates the requested direction only for I2S_DIR_BOTH. The I2S_DIR_RX and I2S_DIR_TX branches read dev_cfg->rx.data->configured / dev_cfg->tx.data->configured without first checking the stream pointers. The device instantiation macro I2S_ESP32_STREAM_INIT() sets both .conf and .data to NULL for a direction the devicetree does not describe, so on an instance that wires only one direction — the normal shape for audio output or a worldsemi,ws2812-i2s LED strip — the other direction dereferences a NULL pointer instead of returning an error. i2s_trigger() is a Zephyr syscall, and z_vrfy_i2s_trigger() in drivers/i2s/i2s_handlers.c validates only the device object and the presence of the trigger API pointer; the dir argument is passed to the driver unvalidated. On a build with CONFIG_USERSPACE enabled, a user-mode thread that has been granted the I2S device can issue a single i2s_trigger() call naming the unwired direction and cause a load from address 0 in kernel mode. Among the Espressif parts that carry this driver, userspace is available in-tree only on RISC-V SoCs with CONFIG_RISCV_PMP, and v4.4.0 is the first release where that is buildable: the ESP32-C6 HPCORE selects RISCV_PMP when it is not built for MCUboot. ESP32-C5 in v4.4.x carries the same PMP-region and userspace linker support but does not select RISCV_PMP by default. Espressif Xtensa targets do not support Zephyr userspace, and in a non-userspace build the bad direction can only come from in-kernel application code. The impact is limited to availability: the access is a read at offset 0 of the missing stream structure, so there is no attacker-controlled offset, no write primitive and no information disclosure. With the default fatal-error handler the resulting exception halts the system, giving an unprivileged user-mode thread a system-wide denial of service. The fix adds the same pointer check the I2S_DIR_BOTH branch already performed and returns -ENOSYS for a direction the instance does not implement; the driver's other entry points (i2s_esp32_config_check(), i2s_esp32_config_get(), i2s_esp32_read(), i2s_esp32_write()) already guarded the pointers, and a static audit found no equivalent unguarded path. The driver defect is older than the affected range. The unguarded dereference is present from v4.2.0 (reached through i2s_esp32_trigger_stream(), whose if (stream) guard tests the address of a struct member and is never false) and takes its present i2s_esp32_trigger_check() form in v4.3.0. No in-tree Espressif configuration before v4.4.0 can run a user-mode thread, so in v4.2.x and v4.3.x the direction argument can only come from trusted kernel code. Those releases carry the bug but are not listed as affected; the fix has also been merged to v4.3-branch as hardening.

How severe is CVE-2026-19737?

CVE-2026-19737 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.10% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2026-19737?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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