CVE-2026-45541: esp-idf Null Dereference — Fix

Description

ESF-IDF is the Espressif Internet of Things (IOT) Development Framework. In versions 5.2.6, 5.3.5, 5.4.4, 5.5.4, and 6.0, a NULL-pointer dereference exists in the WebSocket subprotocol-negotiation path of the esp_http_server component. While parsing the client-supplied Sec-WebSocket-Protocol request header during the WebSocket handshake, the tokenisation result is dereferenced without a NULL check, so a malformed header value can crash the server before any application-level authentication runs. This issue has been patched in versions 5.2.7, 5.3.6, 5.4.5, 5.5.5, and 6.0.1.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0044

Probability of exploitation

0.35%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
espressif	esp-idf	All
espressif	esp-idf	All
espressif	esp-idf	All
espressif	esp-idf	All
espressif	esp-idf	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/00a2f7fbbbd8fe6d04729022e1d5c9a49435bfe8 https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/0dc4ee7537f3b12350f5966cecacd59bba840ec6 https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/37508ab91124ef426a7396d30f79eba1162700c7 https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/9fc0ca13b3b85b98d32b98cd9dc8ff9d82642b7b https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/dc46dc51359749e50617eb70d6f9ae298adc4fff https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/f88a47e4f37fb11ae4b0908cd5c80059d83198c6 https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/security/advisories/GHSA-3j8v-xgrq-5vg8

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-45541? +

ESF-IDF is the Espressif Internet of Things (IOT) Development Framework. In versions 5.2.6, 5.3.5, 5.4.4, 5.5.4, and 6.0, a NULL-pointer dereference exists in the WebSocket subprotocol-negotiation path of the esp_http_server component. While parsing the client-supplied Sec-WebSocket-Protocol request header during the WebSocket handshake, the tokenisation result is dereferenced without a NULL check, so a malformed header value can crash the server before any application-level authentication runs. This issue has been patched in versions 5.2.7, 5.3.6, 5.4.5, 5.5.5, and 6.0.1. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-45541? +

CVE-2026-45541 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0044, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-45541? +

CVE-2026-45541 affects products from espressif, specifically: esp-idf. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-45541? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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