CVE-2024-48984
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in MBed OS 6.16.0 allows a buffer overflow when parsing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertising reports. Attackers could potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service on affected IoT devices. Any device running the vulnerable MBed OS version with BLE functionality enabled is affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- MBed OS
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data exfiltration, or device bricking.
Likely Case
Denial of service causing device crashes or instability in BLE functionality.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if BLE is disabled or devices are behind network segmentation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending specially crafted BLE advertising reports to the target device.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Fixed in MBed OS versions after 6.16.0 via pull request #387
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/mbed-ce/mbed-os/pull/387
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update MBed OS to version after 6.16.0
2. Apply the fix from GitHub pull request #387
3. Recompile and redeploy firmware
4. Restart affected devices
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable BLE functionality
allTemporarily disable Bluetooth Low Energy features if not required
# Configuration depends on specific MBed OS implementation
# Typically involves modifying mbed_app.json or build flags to disable BLE
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network segmentation to isolate BLE devices from untrusted networks
- Deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for abnormal BLE traffic patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if MBed OS version is 6.16.0 and BLE is enabled. Review source code for the vulnerable hciEvtProcessLeExtAdvReport function.Check Version:
# Check MBed OS version in mbed-os.lib or version file
cat mbed-os.lib | grep -i version
# Or check MBed CLI version
mbed --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the fix from pull request #387 is applied in your MBed OS source code. Check that bounds validation is implemented in hci parsing functions.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple BLE connection attempts
- Device crashes or reboots after BLE events
- Memory corruption errors in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual BLE advertising packet patterns
- Excessive BLE report parsing errors
SIEM Query:
device_logs WHERE source="ble_stack" AND (event="buffer_overflow" OR event="memory_corruption")