CVE-2026-0849
Malformed ATAES132A responses with an oversized length field overflow a 52-byte stack buffer in the Zephyr crypto driver, allowing a compromised device or bus attacker to corrupt kernel memory and potentially hijack execution.
Executive Summary
CVE-2026-0849 is a low severity vulnerability affecting binary-analysis. It is classified as Classic Buffer Overflow. Ensure your systems and dependencies are patched immediately to mitigate exposure risks.
Precogs AI Insight
"This exposure is a direct consequence of within ATAES132A responses, allowing an architectural oversight in input validation. When targeted, an adversary might use this to escalate their own privileges to administrative levels without proper credentials. Precogs Binary SAST/DAST engine uncovers boundary violations in compiled software to alert security teams to imminent boundary violations."
What is this vulnerability?
CVE-2026-0849 is categorized as a critical Buffer Overflow flaw. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.
Malformed ATAES132A responses with an oversized length field overflow a 52-byte stack buffer in the Zephyr crypto driver, allowing a compromised device or ...
This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.
Risk Assessment
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CVSS Base Score | 3.8 (LOW) |
| Vector String | CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L |
| Published | March 16, 2026 |
| Last Modified | March 17, 2026 |
| Related CWEs | CWE-120 |
Impact on Systems
✅ Remote Code Execution: Attackers can overwrite the instruction pointer (EIP/RIP) to redirect execution to malicious shellcode.
✅ Memory Corruption: Overwriting adjacent memory regions can corrupt critical application state, leading to unpredictable privilege escalation.
✅ Denial of Service: Triggering segmentation faults and kernel panics results in immediate disruption of critical systems.
How to fix this issue?
Implement the following strategic mitigations immediately to eliminate the attack surface.
1. Memory-Safe Languages Where possible, migrate critical parsing logic to memory-safe languages like Rust or Go.
2. Safe Standard Libraries Replace unbounded C functions (strcpy, sprintf) with boundary-checking equivalents (strncpy, snprintf).
3. Compiler Defenses Ensure software is compiled with modern defensive flags: ASLR, DEP/NX, Stack Canaries (SSP), and Position Independent Executables (PIE).
Vulnerability Signature
// Vulnerable C Function
void parse_network_packet(char *untrusted_data) \{
char local_buffer[128];
// VULNERABLE: strcpy does not verify the length of the source data
strcpy(local_buffer, untrusted_data);
printf("Packet Processed.");
\}
// EXPLOIT PAYLOAD: 128 bytes of padding + [Overwrite EIP Address]
References and Sources
- NVD — CVE-2026-0849
- MITRE — CVE-2026-0849
- CWE-120 — MITRE CWE
- CWE-120 Details
- Binary Analysis Vulnerabilities
Vulnerability Code Signature
Attack Data Flow
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Network packet or file input |
| Vector | Data exceeds the allocated buffer bounds during a copy operation |
| Sink | strcpy(), memcpy(), or pointer arithmetic |
| Impact | Memory corruption, Remote Code Execution (RCE) |
Vulnerable Code Pattern
// ❌ VULNERABLE: Classic Buffer Overflow
void process_data(char *input) {
char buffer[64];
// Taint sink: copies without bounds checking
strcpy(buffer, input);
}
Secure Code Pattern
// ✅ SECURE: Bounded copy
void process_data(char *input) {
char buffer[64];
// Sanitized boundary check
strncpy(buffer, input, sizeof(buffer) - 1);
buffer[sizeof(buffer) - 1] = '\0';
}
How Precogs Detects This
Precogs Binary SAST engine explicitly uncovers memory boundary violations and unsafe memory management functions in compiled binaries.\n