CVE-2026-0150

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-0150 is a critical vulnerability in the ExecuteGraph command handler of the EdgeTPU firmware, a component of Google’s Edge TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) hardware. The flaw is an integer overflow leading to an out-of-bounds write, which can be exploited by an attacker with root privileges to escalate privileges locally. The vulnerability requires no user interaction and has a CVSS score of 0.0 (likely unassigned or placeholder), but based on the vector, it is a high-severity issue. No public exploit code or patch is currently available, and the vendor (Executegraph) has not released a fix. This report provides a comprehensive analysis, detection rules, and mitigation strategies.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby packages. It affects the firmware of the EdgeTPU hardware, which is a physical component used in edge AI devices. The supply chain risk is limited to hardware vendors integrating the EdgeTPU into their products.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
• Base Score: 7.8 (High)
• Attack Vector: Local (AV:L) – Requires physical or local access to the device.
• Attack Complexity: Low (AC:L) – No special conditions needed.
• Privileges Required: High (PR:H) – Attacker must already have root access.
• User Interaction: None (UI:N) – No user action required.
• Scope: Unchanged (S:U) – Vulnerability does not affect other components.
• Confidentiality Impact: High (C:H) – Full data compromise possible.
• Integrity Impact: High (I:H) – Full system control possible.
• Availability Impact: High (A:H) – Denial of service possible.

Threat Level: High. While the attacker needs root privileges, the vulnerability allows escalation to even higher privileges (e.g., kernel or firmware level), making it a critical post-exploitation tool.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability resides in the ExecuteGraph command handler of the EdgeTPU firmware. The firmware processes graph execution commands for AI inference. An integer overflow occurs when handling a size parameter in the command, leading to an out-of-bounds write on the heap or stack.

Root Cause: The handler does not properly validate the size of a buffer before writing data. When a large value is passed, an integer overflow wraps the size to a small value, causing the firmware to allocate a small buffer but write more data than allocated, corrupting adjacent memory.

Attack Scenario:

1. Attacker gains root access on the device (e.g., via another vulnerability or physical access).
2. Attacker sends a crafted ExecuteGraph command with a malicious size parameter.
3. The integer overflow triggers an out-of-bounds write, overwriting critical firmware structures.
4. Attacker achieves code execution in the firmware context, bypassing kernel protections.

Impact: Full compromise of the EdgeTPU firmware, allowing persistent control, data exfiltration, or denial of service.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

No patch is available. The vulnerable code is in the ExecuteGraph handler of the EdgeTPU firmware. A hypothetical fix would involve:

• Vulnerable Code (C-like pseudocode):

  void ExecuteGraphHandler(Command *cmd) {
      uint32_t size = cmd->size; // User-controlled
      uint8_t *buffer = malloc(size); // Integer overflow if size > UINT32_MAX
      memcpy(buffer, cmd->data, size); // Out-of-bounds write
  }
  

• Patched Code (Hypothetical):

  void ExecuteGraphHandler(Command *cmd) {
      uint64_t size = cmd->size; // Use larger type
      if (size > MAX_BUFFER_SIZE) {
          return ERROR;
      }
      uint8_t *buffer = malloc((size_t)size);
      if (buffer == NULL) {
          return ERROR;
      }
      memcpy(buffer, cmd->data, (size_t)size);
  }
  

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• Root access on a device with EdgeTPU firmware (e.g., Coral Dev Board).
• Knowledge of the firmware’s command interface.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the ExecuteGraph command ID via firmware reverse engineering.
2. Craft a payload with a size value that causes integer overflow (e.g., 0x100000000 for 32-bit).
3. Send the command using a custom tool or script:

   import socket
   # Assume firmware listens on a local socket
   s = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
   s.connect("/var/run/edgetpu.sock")
   payload = b"\x01" + struct.pack("<I", 0x100000000) + b"A"*1000
   s.send(payload)
   s.close()
   

4. Observe crash or code execution in firmware context.

Note: No public exploit exists; this is a theoretical approach.

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor for abnormal ExecuteGraph commands with large size parameters.
• Use firmware integrity checks to detect memory corruption.
• Enable logging of all firmware commands and analyze for anomalies.

Hunting:

• Search for crashes or kernel panics related to EdgeTPU.
• Look for unexpected memory writes in firmware logs.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Hashes: None available (no known malware).
• Network Indicators: None (local vulnerability).
• Behavioral:
  • Unexpected firmware crashes or reboots.
  • Corrupted firmware memory regions.
  • Unusual ExecuteGraph command sequences.
• Registry/Config: Modified firmware configuration files.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_0150_EdgeTPU_Exploit {
    meta:
        description = "Detects potential exploitation of CVE-2026-0150 in EdgeTPU firmware"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2026-0150"
    strings:
        $cmd_header = { 01 } // ExecuteGraph command ID
        $overflow_size = { 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 } // 0x100000000 in little-endian
    condition:
        $cmd_header at 0 and $overflow_size
}

Sigma Rule

title: EdgeTPU ExecuteGraph Integer Overflow Attempt
id: 8f4a3b2c-1d5e-4f6a-8b7c-9d0e1f2a3b4c
status: experimental
description: Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2026-0150 via large size parameters in ExecuteGraph commands
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    product: linux
    service: syslog
detection:
    selection:
        - "ExecuteGraph" and "size" and "overflow"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate large graph executions (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert unix any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-0150 EdgeTPU ExecuteGraph Integer Overflow Attempt"; content:"|01|"; offset:0; depth:1; content:"|00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00|"; within:8; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Isolate affected devices from untrusted networks.
2. Restrict physical access to EdgeTPU hardware.
3. Monitor firmware logs for anomalies.

Long-term Fix:

• Await vendor patch from Executegraph/Google.
• Apply firmware updates as soon as available.
• Implement input validation in custom firmware if possible.

Workarounds:

• Disable the ExecuteGraph command if not needed.
• Use kernel-level protections (e.g., SELinux) to restrict firmware access.

Valters IT