CVE-2024-6259
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Zephyr RTOS's Bluetooth Host Controller Interface (HCI) allows improper discarding of advertising extension reports, potentially enabling attackers to cause denial of service or memory corruption. It affects systems using Zephyr RTOS with Bluetooth functionality. Embedded IoT devices and Bluetooth-enabled products are primarily impacted.
💻 Affected Systems
- Zephyr RTOS
📦 What is this software?
Zephyr by Zephyrproject
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data exfiltration, or permanent device bricking
Likely Case
Bluetooth stack crashes causing denial of service, requiring device restart
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper Bluetooth security controls and network segmentation
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires Bluetooth access and knowledge of the vulnerability, but no authentication
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: v3.7.2 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-p5j7-v26w-wmcp
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Zephyr RTOS to version 3.7.2 or later. 2. Rebuild and flash the firmware. 3. Restart affected devices.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Bluetooth advertising extensions
allDisable CONFIG_BT_EXT_ADV and CONFIG_BT_PER_ADV_SYNC in Zephyr configuration
CONFIG_BT_EXT_ADV=n
CONFIG_BT_PER_ADV_SYNC=n
Disable Bluetooth entirely
allCompletely disable Bluetooth functionality if not required
CONFIG_BT=n
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Segment Bluetooth devices on isolated networks
- Implement physical security controls to limit Bluetooth proximity access
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Zephyr version with 'west config zephyr.base' and verify if below v3.7.2 with Bluetooth enabledCheck Version:
west config zephyr.baseVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Zephyr version is v3.7.2 or later and check Bluetooth configuration📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Bluetooth stack crashes
- HCI command failures
- Memory allocation errors in Bluetooth subsystem
Network Indicators:
- Unusual Bluetooth advertising patterns
- Malformed Bluetooth packets targeting HCI
SIEM Query:
source="bluetooth_logs" AND (event="crash" OR event="memory_error") AND subsystem="hci"