Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2026-87041

Inverted memory-permission check in the RTIO syscall verifier allows a user-mode thread to read and write arbitrary kernel memory

Published Nov 4, 2026 · catalog updated Nov 4, 2026 · Inverted memory-permission check in

Last checked Nov 5, 2026. A connected source was read within the last 7 days.

Check if you run it

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-87041. EPSS is 0.11%. Act only if a listed version of Inverted memory-permission check in is installed.

Gaps on this record

  • The stored product name is a package slug. The name on this page is taken from the title (Inverted memory-permission check in).
  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.

Same product and reporting

Severity
High7.8
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
0.11%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
vendor zephyrproject zephyr

The RTIO submission-queue verifier rtio_vrfy_sqe() in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0) accumulated the results of K_SYSCALL_MEMORY() into its valid_sqe flag with &=. That macro returns nonzero on failure (it is built on K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(), which yields !(expr)), so every buffer permission check contributed the opposite of its result. A submission whose tx.buf, rx.buf or txrx.tx_buf/txrx.rx_buf pointer was not accessible to the calling thread was accepted, while a legitimate, thread-owned buffer caused the calling thread to be killed with a kernel oops. The verifier runs on behalf of the rtio_sqe_copy_in_get_handles() system call (also reached through the inline rtio_sqe_copy_in() wrapper), so it is driven directly by untrusted user-mode input on any image built with CONFIG_USERSPACE. A user thread that has been granted an RTIO context and an rtio_iodev object — the intended usage of RTIO userspace support, established via rtio_access_grant() — can submit an SQE whose buffer pointer and length name arbitrary kernel memory; the object check on sqe->iodev is unaffected and still passes, and the crafted SQE is forwarded to the bus driver unchanged. Downstream consumers dereference the pointer with supervisor privilege. The generic I2C and I3C RTIO fallback handlers (drivers/i2c/i2c_rtio_default.c, drivers/i3c/i3c_rtio_default.c) copy sqe.rx.buf/sqe.tx.buf into struct i2c_msg and call i2c_transfer(), and the vendor SPI/I2C RTIO drivers behave equivalently. An RTIO_OP_RX submission therefore has peripheral data written into kernel memory of the attacker's choosing (arbitrary kernel write), an RTIO_OP_TX submission clocks kernel memory out over the bus (kernel memory disclosure), and a pointer to unmapped memory faults the kernel. This is a full escape from the user-mode isolation boundary that CONFIG_USERSPACE exists to enforce. The defect was masked for years because the in-tree user-mode RTIO tests only exercise RTIO_OP_NOP and

Are you affected?

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  • vendor zephyrproject zephyrversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2026-87041

  • No stored fix

    No vendor fix text is stored. Use the linked advisory before you change production.

  • Version check

    No version range is stored, so an installed version cannot be checked on this page.

  • Advisory

    Open the cve_org record and follow its fix.

  • Official advisories

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-87041. EPSS is 0.11%. Act only if a listed version of Inverted memory-permission check in is installed.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read; CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write; CWE-822. EPSS 0.11%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Nov 4, 2026 · Tenable CVE Database

    Detected

    The RTIO submission-queue verifier rtio_vrfy_sqe() in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0) accumulated the results of K_SYSCALL_MEMORY() into its valid_sqe flag with &=. That macro returns nonzero on failure (it is built on K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(), which yields !(expr)), so every buffer permission check contributed the opposite of its result. A submission whose tx

  2. Nov 4, 2026 · CVE.org

    Updated

    The RTIO submission-queue verifier rtio_vrfy_sqe() in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0) accumulated the results of K_SYSCALL_MEMORY() into its valid_sqe flag with &=. That macro returns nonzero on failure (it is built on K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(), which yields !(expr)), so every buffer permission check contributed the opposite of its result. A submission whose tx

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-87041

    The RTIO submission-queue verifier rtio_vrfy_sqe() in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0) accumulated the results of K_SYSCALL_MEMORY() into its valid_sqe flag with &=. That macro returns nonzero on failure (it is built on K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(

    cve.org
  • Tenable CVE DatabaseVulnerability recordCVE-2026-87041

    The RTIO submission-queue verifier rtio_vrfy_sqe() in subsys/rtio/rtio_syscalls.c (subsys/rtio/rtio_handlers.c before v4.3.0) accumulated the results of K_SYSCALL_MEMORY() into its valid_sqe flag with &=. That macro returns nonzero on failure (it is built on K_SYSCALL_VERIFY_MSG(), which yields !(expr)), so every buffer permission check contributed the opposite of its result. A submission whose tx

    tenable.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Nov 4, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.

  • CVE.orgNov 5, 2026
  • Tenable CVE DatabaseNov 4, 2026