CVE-2026-44634: Stack buffer overflows in SimpleBLE

Synopsis

Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities affect SimpleBLE, a cross-platform Bluetooth Low Energy library, in versions prior to 0.14.0. Two of the three overflow paths are reachable over-the-network (no pairing or connection required) by sending malformed BLE advertisement data, while a third requires local caller-controlled input; no authentication is needed for the remote paths. Successful exploitation crashes the affected service, causing a denial of service. HarborGuard tracks this advisory and will make a patched-image rebuild available the moment an upstream fix version is published.

HarborGuard Coverage

Exploit Conditions

• Network reachabilityRequired

  Two of the three vulnerable code paths are reachable remotely: an attacker can trigger the overflow by broadcasting malformed BLE advertisement packets with no prior pairing or connection to the target device.

• AuthenticationNot required

  No authentication, pairing, or established BLE connection is required to reach the remote advertisement-processing paths.

• Victim interactionNot required

  The remote attack paths are passive from the victim's perspective; no user action is needed because the vulnerable code processes incoming BLE advertisements automatically.

• Attack complexityDetail

  Attack complexity is low, meaning the exploit is reliable and requires no special race conditions, memory-layout knowledge, or environmental setup for the remote advertisement paths.

Blast Radius

• Crashes the process hosting the SimpleBLE library, taking down any application or service that depends on it for BLE communication.
• Sustained or repeated exploitation produces a persistent denial of service, preventing the affected host from scanning or connecting to BLE devices.
• A third overflow path (local, caller-controlled input) allows a process already running on the host to corrupt its own stack, potentially destabilizing co-resident services sharing the process boundary.