---
id: CVE-2026-87045
title: >-
  NULL pointer dereference in the Zephyr HTTP/2 server when a header block is
  completed by a CONTINUATION frame
summary: >-
  The HTTP/2 server in subsys/net/lib/http/http_server_http2.c clears the
  connection's stream binding at the start of every frame.
  handle_http_frame_header() executed client->current_stream = NULL
  unconditionally, but a CONTINUATION frame …
severity: high
cvss: 7.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: zephyrproject
product: zephyr
affected:
  - zephyr >= 4.1.0 < 4.3.2
  - zephyr >= 4.4.0 < 4.5.0
published: '2026-11-06'
updated: '2026-11-06'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-06T14:38:25.629Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-87045'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/commit/e72a9d9498092bfbb7feed4b479bf21bc3218c3d
    label: Fix commit
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/zephyrproject-rtos/zephyr/security/advisories/GHSA-cw8r-2jj2-w8fw
    label: GHSA-cw8r-2jj2-w8fw
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-11-06T14:53:08.174Z'
---

## Overview

The HTTP/2 server in subsys/net/lib/http/http_server_http2.c clears the connection's stream binding at the start of every frame. handle_http_frame_header() executed client->current_stream = NULL unconditionally, but a CONTINUATION frame does not open a new stream and enter_http_frame_continuation_state() never re-bound one, so the rest of the header block was processed with client->current_stream unset. Two paths then write through the NULL pointer. A request for an unregistered resource, or a method the matched resource does not support, is answered by send_http2_404() or send_http2_405(), and both call send_headers_frame(), which unconditionally sets client->current_stream->headers_sent = true. A POST, PUT or PATCH to a registered dynamic resource reaches handle_http2_dynamic_resource(), which unlike its siblings (handle_http2_static_resource(), dynamic_get_del_opts_req_v2(), dynamic_post_put_req_v2()) had no client->current_stream == NULL guard, and stores through the pointer with client->current_stream->current_detail = dynamic_detail.

Any peer that can reach the server can trigger this without authentication or prior state. A single stray CONTINUATION frame with END_HEADERS set, sent right after the client preface and requesting any unregistered path, is enough, because nothing rejected a CONTINUATION that no HEADERS frame had opened. A legitimate split header block (a HEADERS frame with END_HEADERS clear whose payload ends on a header-field boundary, then a CONTINUATION with END_HEADERS set) reaches the same state. The in-tree test test_http2_post_headers_with_continuation() did not catch this because it splits the header block mid field, which takes the handle_incomplete_http_header() shortcut that keeps the stream bound.

The result is a write to a fixed low address (a small offset into struct http2_stream_ctx), which faults on mainstream targets (flash/vector-table region on Cortex-M, or a trap under MPU/MMU null-pointer detection), and the default fatal-error handler halts the system. Impact is an unauthenticated, remotely triggerable denial of service against any device running the HTTP/2 server: the 404 path needs no particular resource to be registered, and HTTP/2 is built into CONFIG_HTTP_SERVER with cleartext h2c accepted, so TLS does not prevent it. Neither the target address nor the written value is attacker-controlled, so there is no confidentiality or integrity impact. Applications built without CONFIG_HTTP_SERVER are not affected.

## Affected

- `zephyr >= 4.1.0 < 4.3.2`
- `zephyr >= 4.4.0 < 4.5.0`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.