CVE-2026-16147 it82xx2 USB device controller submits incomplete OUT transfer buffers, causing use-after-free and event-list corruption
A USB host can trigger a use-after-free in the IT82xx2 driver, causing kernel heap corruption and denial of service or potential code execution.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-16147?
CVE-2026-16147 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in zephyrproject zephyr, published on 14 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The ITE IT82xx2 USB device-controller driver (drivers/usb/udc/udc_it82xx2.c) mishandles multi-packet OUT transfers on non-control endpoints. In work_handler_out() the active transfer buffer is obtained with udc_buf_peek() (which does not dequeue it); when a full max-packet-size packet arrives but the buffer still has tailroom (the transfer is not yet complete), the pre-fix code both re-arms the endpoint to keep filling that same buf via work_handler_xfer_continue() and simultaneously hands the same, still-being-filled buffer to the upper stack with udc_submit_ep_event().
Because udc_submit_ep_event() transfers ownership of the buffer to the USB device stack (usbd_event_carrier() appends &buf->node to uds_ctx->ep_events, after which the class handler processes and net_buf_unref()s it), the driver continues to DMA subsequent host-controlled OUT packets into a buffer the upper stack may already have freed and recycled — a use-after-free write. In addition, since the buffer was never dequeued, the completing packet runs udc_buf_get() on the same object and submits it a second time, appending &buf->node to the event slist twice (singly-linked-list corruption) and causing a double net_buf_unref().
The IT82xx2 is a USB peripheral controller, so the untrusted USB host controls OUT-transfer packetization and can force this path against any non-control OUT endpoint whose queued buffer exceeds one packet — an ordinary bulk/interrupt pattern. The driver and USB device stack run in kernel context above the external host, giving the host a device-side kernel heap-corruption primitive: a reliable denial of service and, because the written bytes are attacker-controlled, plausible corruption of adjacent net_buf pool memory. The vector is physical (USB attach). The fix defers submission until the buffer is completely filled and lets xfer_work_handler() drive continuation, so each OUT buffer is submitted to the upper stack exactly once.
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16147?
How do I fix CVE-2026-16147?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16147 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-16147 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16147 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-3q4g-7w6j-8qfp.