CVE-2025-68657
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a double-free vulnerability in Espressif ESP-IDF USB Host HID Driver that can corrupt heap metadata. Attackers could potentially crash devices or execute arbitrary code by exploiting the race condition between USB event callbacks and user code. This affects any ESP32-based devices using USB Host HID functionality with ESP-IDF versions before 1.1.0.
💻 Affected Systems
- Espressif ESP-IDF USB Host HID Driver
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete device compromise, data exfiltration, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Device crash or denial of service through heap corruption, potentially requiring physical reset.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and device isolation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires race condition timing and USB device interaction. No public exploits known at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.1.0
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/espressif/esp-usb/security/advisories/GHSA-gp8r-qjfr-gqfv
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update ESP-IDF to latest version. 2. Update usb_host_hid component to version 1.1.0 or later. 3. Recompile and flash firmware to affected devices. 4. Restart devices to apply new firmware.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable USB Host HID functionality
allRemove or disable USB Host HID driver if not required for device functionality.
Modify sdkconfig to disable CONFIG_USB_HOST_HID
Remove usb_host_hid component from project
Implement application-level locking
allAdd mutex protection around hid_host_device_close() calls in application code.
Add pthread_mutex_lock/unlock or similar around hid_host_device_close() calls
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected devices on separate network segments
- Implement strict USB device whitelisting and monitoring
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check ESP-IDF version and usb_host_hid component version in sdkconfig or component.mk files.Check Version:
idf.py --version && grep -r "usb_host_hid" components/ idf_component.ymlVerify Fix Applied:
Verify usb_host_hid component version is 1.1.0 or higher in idf_component.yml or component registry.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Heap corruption errors
- USB stack crashes
- Double-free detection messages
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected device reboots
- USB device enumeration failures
SIEM Query:
device_logs: ("heap corruption" OR "double free" OR "usb_host_hid") AND device_type:esp32