CVE-2026-10774: PSA key-slot leak in Bluetooth Mesh subnet deletion leading to resource-exhaustion DoS
Zephyr's Bluetooth Mesh subnet key management leaks one PSA Crypto key slot on every subnet-key teardown. In subsys/bluetooth/mesh/subnet.c, netkeyscreate() imports the Private Beacon Key into a PSA key slot under CONFIGBTMESHPRIVBEACONS (enabled by default), but subnetkeysdestroy() guarded the matching psadestroykey() with CONFIGBTMESHV1d1. That Kconfig symbol was removed when explicit Mesh 1.0.1 support was dropped, so the destroy branch became permanently dead code and the import is never balanced by a destroy.
The imbalanced teardown is reached every time subnet keys are destroyed: deleting a subnet (Config Server NetKey Delete), completing a Key Refresh Procedure (which retires the old key set), and resetting/re-provisioning the node. The over-the-air triggers are processed only under the node's device key, so they are exercisable by the provisioner or network administrator that owns the node, reachable over the Bluetooth Mesh network.
With the default CONFIGMBEDTLSPSAKEYSLOTCOUNT of 16, repeated add/delete or key-refresh cycles exhaust the shared PSA key-slot pool after roughly a dozen rounds. Once exhausted, btmeshprivatebeaconkey() and thus subnet creation fail: the node can no longer add subnets or complete key refresh, and other PSA crypto consumers on the device may be starved, until the device is rebooted. The fix aligns the destroy guard with the import guard (CONFIGBTMESHPRIVBEACONS) so each slot is freed.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Configuration
In subsys/bluetooth/mesh/subnet.c, align the destroy-time PSA key-slot guard in subnet_keys_destroy() with the import-time guard used by net_keys_create() for the Private Beacon Key (CONFIG_BT_MESH_PRIV_BEACONS enabled by default). This ensures the PSA key slot imported under CONFIG_BT_MESH_PRIV_BEACONS is balanced by psa_destroy_key() on subnet-key teardown.
Zephyr Bluetooth Mesh (subsys/bluetooth/mesh/subnet.c) CONFIG_BT_MESH_PRIV_BEACONS / CONFIG_BT_MESH_V1d1 (PSA key destroy guard) = Ensure subnet_keys_destroy() guards psa_destroy_key() with CONFIG_BT_MESH_PRIV_BEACONS so the imported Private Beacon Key PSA slot is freed - Compensating control
Until the code fix is applied, avoid repeating subnet add/delete and key refresh cycles on affected devices (e.g., repeated Config Server NetKey Delete, Key Refresh Procedure, and reset/re-provisioning), since each subnet-key teardown leaks a PSA key slot and can exhaust the shared PSA key-slot pool (CONFIG_MBEDTLS_PSA_KEY_SLOT_COUNT default 16), causing a resource-exhaustion DoS.
- Operational
After the condition is reached (subnet creation and key refresh begin to fail due to exhausted PSA key slots), reboot the device to recover available PSA key slots, since the failure persists until reboot in the described scenario.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-10774?
CVE-2026-10774 has a low severity score of 2.4.
What is CVE-2026-10774 about?
CVE-2026-10774 involves the leakage of a PSA Crypto key slot during Bluetooth Mesh subnet deletion, potentially leading to resource-exhaustion Denial of Service.
How do I fix CVE-2026-10774?
To fix CVE-2026-10774, ensure that the relevant updates or patches from the Zephyr Project are applied.
What potential impact does CVE-2026-10774 have?
CVE-2026-10774 can result in resource-exhaustion Denial of Service due to the key-slot leak.
Which software is affected by CVE-2026-10774?
CVE-2026-10774 affects the Zephyr Project's Bluetooth Mesh implementation.