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CVE-2026-87045

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

The HTTP/2 server in subsys/net/lib/http/http_server_http2.c clears the connection's stream binding at the start of every frame. handle_http_frame_header() executed client->current_stream = NULL unconditionally, but a CONTINUATION frame does not open a new stream and enter_http_frame_continuation_state() never re-bound one, so the rest of the header block was processed with client->current_stream unset. Two paths then write through the NULL pointer. A request for an unregistered resource, or a method the matched resource does not support, is answered by send_http2_404() or send_http2_405(), and both call send_headers_frame(), which unconditionally sets client->current_stream->headers_sent = true. A POST, PUT or PATCH to a registered dynamic resource reaches handle_http2_dynamic_resource(), which unlike its siblings (handle_http2_static_resource(), dynamic_get_del_opts_req_v2(), dynamic_post_put_req_v2()) had no client->current_stream == NULL guard, and stores through the pointer with client->current_stream->current_detail = dynamic_detail. Any peer that can reach the server can trigger this without authentication or prior state. A single stray CONTINUATION frame with END_HEADERS set, sent right after the client preface and requesting any unregistered path, is enough, because nothing rejected a CONTINUATION that no HEADERS frame had opened. A legitimate split header block (a HEADERS frame with END_HEADERS clear whose payload ends on a header-field boundary, then a CONTINUATION with END_HEADERS set) reaches the same state. The in-tree test test_http2_post_headers_with_continuation() did not catch this because it splits the header block mid field, which takes the handle_incomplete_http_header() shortcut that keeps the stream bound. The result is a write to a fixed low address (a small offset into struct http2_stream_ctx), which faults on mainstream targets (flash/vector-table region on Cortex-M, or a trap under MPU/MMU null-pointer detection), and the default fatal-error handler halts the system. Impact is an unauthenticated, remotely triggerable denial of service against any device running the HTTP/2 server: the 404 path needs no particular resource to be registered, and HTTP/2 is built into CONFIG_HTTP_SERVER with cleartext h2c accepted, so TLS does not prevent it. Neither the target address nor the written value is attacker-controlled, so there is no confidentiality or integrity impact. Applications built without CONFIG_HTTP_SERVER are not affected.

Severity
HIGH
CVSS score
7.5 (v3.1)
Vulnerability status
Awaiting Analysis
Source identifier
Published
2026-11-06 15:17:26.850000
Last modified
2026-11-06 15:17:27.010000
View original CVE JSON
{
  "id": "CVE-2026-87045",
  "sourceIdentifier": "[email protected]",
  "published": "2026-11-06T15:17:26.850",
  "lastModified": "2026-11-06T15:17:27.010",
  "vulnStatus": "Awaiting Analysis",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "The HTTP/2 server in subsys/net/lib/http/http_server_http2.c clears the connection's stream binding at the start of every frame. handle_http_frame_header() executed client->current_stream = NULL unconditionally, but a CONTINUATION frame does not open a new stream and enter_http_frame_continuation_state() never re-bound one, so the rest of the header block was processed with client->current_stream unset. Two paths then write through the NULL pointer. A request for an unregistered resource, or a method the matched resource does not support, is answered by send_http2_404() or send_http2_405(), and both call send_headers_frame(), which unconditionally sets client->current_stream->headers_sent = true. A POST, PUT or PATCH to a registered dynamic resource reaches handle_http2_dynamic_resource(), which unlike its siblings (handle_http2_static_resource(), dynamic_get_del_opts_req_v2(), dynamic_post_put_req_v2()) had no client->current_stream == NULL guard, and stores through the pointer with client->current_stream->current_detail = dynamic_detail.\n\nAny peer that can reach the server can trigger this without authentication or prior state. A single stray CONTINUATION frame with END_HEADERS set, sent right after the client preface and requesting any unregistered path, is enough, because nothing rejected a CONTINUATION that no HEADERS frame had opened. A legitimate split header block (a HEADERS frame with END_HEADERS clear whose payload ends on a header-field boundary, then a CONTINUATION with END_HEADERS set) reaches the same state. The in-tree test test_http2_post_headers_with_continuation() did not catch this because it splits the header block mid field, which takes the handle_incomplete_http_header() shortcut that keeps the stream bound.\n\nThe result is a write to a fixed low address (a small offset into struct http2_stream_ctx), which faults on mainstream targets (flash/vector-table region on Cortex-M, or a trap under MPU/MMU null-pointer detection), and the default fatal-error handler halts the system. Impact is an unauthenticated, remotely triggerable denial of service against any device running the HTTP/2 server: the 404 path needs no particular resource to be registered, and HTTP/2 is built into CONFIG_HTTP_SERVER with cleartext h2c accepted, so TLS does not prevent it. Neither the target address nor the written value is attacker-controlled, so there is no confidentiality or integrity impact. Applications built without CONFIG_HTTP_SERVER are not affected."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "zephyrproject",
          "product": "zephyr",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "collectionURL": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr",
          "packageName": "zephyr",
          "programFiles": [
            "subsys/net/lib/http/http_server_http2.c"
          ],
          "programRoutines": [
            {
              "name": "enter_http_frame_continuation_state"
            },
            {
              "name": "handle_http2_dynamic_resource"
            },
            {
              "name": "handle_http_frame_header"
            },
            {
              "name": "handle_http_frame_headers"
            },
            {
              "name": "send_headers_frame"
            }
          ],
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "4.1.0",
              "lessThan": "4.3.2",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "4.4.0",
              "lessThan": "4.5.0",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "affected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "source": "[email protected]",
        "type": "Secondary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "3.1",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
          "baseScore": 7.5,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 3.9,
        "impactScore": 3.6
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "type": "Secondary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-476"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/e72a9d9498092bfbb7feed4b479bf21bc3218c3d",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-cw8r-2jj2-w8fw",
      "source": "[email protected]"
    }
  ]
}