The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) controller implementation in Espressif ESP-IDF 4.0 through 4.2 (for ESP32 devices) returns the wrong number of completed BLE packets and triggers a reachable assertion on the host stack when receiving a packet with an MIC failure. An attacker within radio range can silently trigger the assertion (which disables the targets BLE stack) by sending a crafted sequence of BLE packets.
The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esp-idf | Espressif | 4.0.0 (including) | 4.2 (including) |
While assertion is good for catching logic errors and reducing the chances of reaching more serious vulnerability conditions, it can still lead to a denial of service. For example, if a server handles multiple simultaneous connections, and an assert() occurs in one single connection that causes all other connections to be dropped, this is a reachable assertion that leads to a denial of service.