CVE-2024-48985: An issue was discovered in MBed OS 6.16.0. (CVSS 7.5)

An issue was discovered in MBed OS 6.16.0.

An issue was discovered in MBed OS 6.16.0. During processing of HCI packets, the software dynamically determines the length of the packet data by reading 2 bytes from the packet data. A buffer is then allocated to contain the entire packet, the size of which is calculated as the length of the packet body determined earlier and the header length. If the allocate fails because the specified packet is too large, no exception handling occurs and hciTrSerialRxIncoming continues to write bytes into the 4-byte large temporary header buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. This can be leveraged into an arbitrary write by an attacker. It is possible to overwrite the pointer to the buffer that is supposed to receive the contents of the packet body but which couldn't be allocated. One can then overwrite the state variable used by the function to determine which step of the parsing process is currently being executed. This advances the function to the next state, where it proceeds to copy data to that arbitrary location. The packet body is then written wherever the corrupted data pointer is pointing.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by MITRE

What it means for a small business

If your business uses mbed, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.38%, higher than 31% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.