{"id":"CVE-2026-14696","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2026-14696","generatedAt":"2026-10-28T07:25:52.602Z","title":"The NET_OK verdict then propagates through ethernet_recv() up to processing_data() in subsys/net/ip/net_core.c, where NET_OK is interpreted as \"the packet was consumed, do not free it.\" Because no consumer actually took ownership, the RX net_pkt is…","description":"When Ethernet bridging is enabled (CONFIG_NET_ETHERNET_BRIDGE), eth_bridge_input_process() in subsys/net/l2/ethernet/bridge/bridge_input.c decides how each frame received on a bridge member interface is handled. For frames that must also be delivered to the local stack, the code called eth_bridge_handle_locally() and returned NET_OK. That helper does not consume the packet — it only calls bridge_iface_recv() (via virtual_recv()), which returns NET_CONTINUE without taking ownership of pkt.\n\nThe NET_OK verdict then propagates through ethernet_recv() up to processing_data() in subsys/net/ip/net_core.c, where NET_OK is interpreted as \"the packet was consumed, do not free it.\" Because no consumer actually took ownership, the RX net_pkt is never returned to the pool and is leaked. The concretely reproducible leak occurs for frames whose EtherType has no registered L3 handler when CONFIG_NET_ETHERNET_FORWARD_UNRECOGNISED_ETHERTYPE is set (default y when CONFIG_NET_SOCKETS_PACKET is enabled): the fall-through L3 dispatch does not overwrite the NET_OK verdict, so ethernet_recv() returns NET_OK and the buffer is never released.\n\nAny device on a bridged L2 segment can emit broadcast/multicast frames carrying an arbitrary EtherType with no authentication. Each such frame permanently consumes one buffer from the finite RX pool (CONFIG_NET_PKT_RX_COUNT), so a brief broadcast flood exhausts the pool and the device can no longer receive traffic until it is rebooted — a persistent denial of service. There is no confidentiality or integrity impact.\n\nThe fix makes eth_bridge_handle_locally() propagate the real net_verdict and return NET_CONTINUE for locally-kept frames, writing the bridge interface back through a new dst_iface out-parameter so the packet follows the normal receive path and is unreferenced exactly once.","published":"2026-08-31T19:16:46.000Z","lastModified":"2026-09-01T15:17:12.000Z","status":"Awaiting Analysis","sourceIdentifier":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":6.5,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-401"],"affected":[],"epss":{"score":0.00329,"percentile":0.25899,"date":"2026-10-27","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"low","text":"Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.33%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/4eb007af465a1d28f2f35d93ecf139cc62c542a7","source":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"},{"url":"https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-3m4w-wc4v-766q","source":"vulnerabilities@zephyrproject.org"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14696","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}