CVE-2026-14986
Published:September 14, 2026
Updated:September 22, 2026
The ITE it51xxx I2C driver, when operating as an I2C target (slave) in buffer mode (CONFIG_I2C_TARGET + CONFIG_I2C_TARGET_BUFFER_MODE), copies host-supplied write data into the fixed-size data->target_in_buffer inside its target FIFO interrupt handler target_i2c_isr_fifo() in drivers/i2c/i2c_ite_it51xxx.c. The copy loop stores to target_in_buffer[i + data->w_index] and only checks data->w_index against sizeof(data->target_in_buffer) after the write has already completed, so the bounds check cannot prevent the overflow.
The running index data->w_index accumulates count bytes on every FIFO-fill interrupt of an ongoing transaction and is reset to zero only on a STOP or timeout condition. An I2C host that streams a single write transaction longer than the buffer (default CONFIG_I2C_TARGET_IT51XXX_MAX_BUF_SIZE = 256 bytes) drives data->w_index past the end of the buffer, and each subsequent host byte is written out of bounds into the adjacent data->target_out_buffer and following static device data.
The trigger is a malicious or misbehaving I2C master on the same bus (for example a compromised application processor or a rogue device on an exposed I2C bus); no software privilege on the victim is required and the handler runs in the target's kernel/firmware context. Because both the written values and the overflow length are attacker-controlled, this is an out-of-bounds write that can crash the controller or be shaped toward code execution. The fix adds a pre-write bounds check in target_i2c_fifo_read_to_buf() that aborts and resets the FIFO before any out-of-bounds store.
Affected Packages
https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=v4.2.0 <v4.4.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version v4.4.2Related Resources (2)
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Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
7
Attack Vector
PHYSICAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
HIGH
Vulnerable System Integrity
HIGH
Vulnerable System Availability
HIGH
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
6.8
Attack Vector
PHYSICAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Weakness Type (CWE)
Out-of-bounds Write
EPSS
Base Score:
0.18