CVE-2026-12233: Uninitialized mutex in TLS trusted-credential backend causes kernel NULL-deref DoS under contention

Published Aug 12, 2026
·
Updated

The PSA Protected Storage credential backend (subsys/net/lib/tlscredentials/tlscredentialstrusted.c) declared its credential-store mutex as a plain zero-filled static struct kmutex credentiallock; and never called kmutexinit() on it. A statically zero-filled kmutex has an uninitialized wait queue (its dlist head/tail are NULL instead of the self-referential sentinels that kmutexinit/KMUTEXDEFINE install). The uncontended lock path does not touch the wait queue, so the defect is latent and serialized use behaves correctly.

When two execution contexts contend on the lock, kmutexlock() pends the blocking thread on the wait queue via zpendcurr(), which calls sysdlistappend() on the zeroed list and dereferences a NULL tail pointer (tail->next = node), faulting the kernel. The lock is held during TLS handshake credential loading and by all credential add/get/delete operations, so a deployment performing concurrent TLS handshakes (for example a server handling multiple simultaneous connections from a remote peer) or a credential-management operation concurrent with a handshake can trigger the dereference.

The impact is a denial of service: a deterministic kernel panic / device reset on the first contention. There is no memory corruption beyond the NULL dereference and no confidentiality or integrity impact; mutual exclusion on the fast path remains correct. Exposure is limited to builds with CONFIGTLSCREDENTIALSBACKENDPROTECTEDSTORAGE enabled (PSA Protected Storage / TF-M platforms); the default volatile RAM backend initializes its lock correctly and is unaffected.

The fix initializes the mutex statically with KMUTEXDEFINE(credentiallock), providing a valid wait queue so the contended path no longer touches a NULL list.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Zephyr PSA Protected Storage credential backend (TF-M / TLS credentials trusted-credential)

Event History

Aug 12, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:54 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:54 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-12233?

The severity of CVE-2026-12233 is rated as medium, with a score of 5.9.

2

What does CVE-2026-12233 affect?

CVE-2026-12233 affects the Zephyr PSA Protected Storage credential backend implemented within the TLS credentials trusted-credential.

3

What is the risk associated with CVE-2026-12233?

CVE-2026-12233 has a risk score of 35, indicating a moderate potential impact.

4

How does CVE-2026-12233 manifest?

CVE-2026-12233 causes a kernel NULL-dereference denial of service under contention due to an uninitialized mutex.

5

How can CVE-2026-12233 be mitigated?

To mitigate CVE-2026-12233, ensure that the k_mutex_init() function is called on the credential-store mutex before use.

Contact

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