[PATCH] nfc: hci: fix OOB heap read on short HCP frames.

From: Ashutosh Desai

Date: Wed Apr 08 2026 - 18:31:22 EST


Both nfc_hci_recv_from_llc() and nfc_hci_msg_rx_work() read byte 1 of
an sk_buff (the HCP message header field) without first verifying the
buffer contains at least NFC_HCI_HCP_HEADER_LEN (2) bytes.

The SHDLC LLC layer only filters zero-length frames; a single-byte
I-frame from a malicious NFC peer therefore reaches the HCI reassembly
path where packet->message.header is read one byte past the valid data.
The same issue is present in the NCI HCI implementation (nci/hci.c)
via nci_hci_data_received_cb() and nci_hci_msg_rx_work().

Add an explicit length check before accessing the message header at
all four locations, freeing the skb on malformed input.

Signed-off-by: Ashutosh Desai <ashutoshdesai993@xxxxxxxxx>
---
net/nfc/hci/core.c | 9 +++++++++
net/nfc/nci/hci.c | 9 +++++++++
2 files changed, 18 insertions(+)

diff --git a/net/nfc/hci/core.c b/net/nfc/hci/core.c
index 0d33c81a1..13d10b841 100644
--- a/net/nfc/hci/core.c
+++ b/net/nfc/hci/core.c
@@ -134,6 +134,10 @@ static void nfc_hci_msg_rx_work(struct work_struct *work)
u8 instruction;

while ((skb = skb_dequeue(&hdev->msg_rx_queue)) != NULL) {
+ if (skb->len < NFC_HCI_HCP_HEADER_LEN) {
+ kfree_skb(skb);
+ continue;
+ }
pipe = skb->data[0];
skb_pull(skb, NFC_HCI_HCP_PACKET_HEADER_LEN);
message = (struct hcp_message *)skb->data;
@@ -904,6 +908,11 @@ static void nfc_hci_recv_from_llc(struct nfc_hci_dev *hdev, struct sk_buff *skb)
* unblock waiting cmd context. Otherwise, enqueue to dispatch
* in separate context where handler can also execute command.
*/
+ if (hcp_skb->len < NFC_HCI_HCP_HEADER_LEN) {
+ kfree_skb(hcp_skb);
+ return;
+ }
+
packet = (struct hcp_packet *)hcp_skb->data;
type = HCP_MSG_GET_TYPE(packet->message.header);
if (type == NFC_HCI_HCP_RESPONSE) {
diff --git a/net/nfc/nci/hci.c b/net/nfc/nci/hci.c
index 40ae8e5a7..2a6432878 100644
--- a/net/nfc/nci/hci.c
+++ b/net/nfc/nci/hci.c
@@ -412,6 +412,10 @@ static void nci_hci_msg_rx_work(struct work_struct *work)

for (; (skb = skb_dequeue(&hdev->msg_rx_queue)); kcov_remote_stop()) {
kcov_remote_start_common(skb_get_kcov_handle(skb));
+ if (skb->len < NCI_HCI_HCP_HEADER_LEN) {
+ kfree_skb(skb);
+ continue;
+ }
pipe = NCI_HCP_MSG_GET_PIPE(skb->data[0]);
skb_pull(skb, NCI_HCI_HCP_PACKET_HEADER_LEN);
message = (struct nci_hcp_message *)skb->data;
@@ -482,6 +486,11 @@ void nci_hci_data_received_cb(void *context,
* unblock waiting cmd context. Otherwise, enqueue to dispatch
* in separate context where handler can also execute command.
*/
+ if (hcp_skb->len < NCI_HCI_HCP_HEADER_LEN) {
+ kfree_skb(hcp_skb);
+ return;
+ }
+
packet = (struct nci_hcp_packet *)hcp_skb->data;
type = NCI_HCP_MSG_GET_TYPE(packet->message.header);
if (type == NCI_HCI_HCP_RESPONSE) {
--
2.34.1