CVE-2026-22214 RIOT OS <= 2026.01-devel-317 Stack-Based Buffer Overflow in ethos Serial Frame Parser
An attacker can cause memory corruption and crashes in RIOT OS by sending crafted serial or TCP data to the ethos utility due to missing bounds checks.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-22214?
CVE-2026-22214 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in RIOT OS, published on 12 Jan 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
RIOT OS versions up to and including 2026.01-devel-317 contain a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the ethos utility due to missing bounds checking when processing incoming serial frame data. The vulnerability occurs in the _handle_char() function, where incoming frame bytes are appended to a fixed-size stack buffer without verifying that the current write index remains within bounds. An attacker capable of sending crafted serial or TCP-framed input can cause the current write index to exceed the buffer size, resulting in a write past the end of the stack buffer. This condition leads to memory corruption and application crash.
Weakness: CWE-121
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22214?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Riot-Os Riot.
How do I fix CVE-2026-22214?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-22214 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-22214 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-22214 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in RIOT OS
Sources
Also known as GHSA-rfq2-gv2r-vgjg.