PX4 autopilot is a flight control solution for drones. Prior to 1.17.0-rc1, a heap-use-after-free is detected in the MavlinkShell::available() function. The issue is caused by a race condition between the MAVLink receiver thread (which handles shell creation/destruction) and the telemetry sender thread (which polls the shell for available output). The issue is remotely triggerable via MAVLink SERIAL_CONTROL messages (ID 126), which can be sent by an external ground station or automated script. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.17.0-rc1.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3, indicating it requires adjacent network access but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from dronecode organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2026, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2026-03-16T14:19:43.203
2026-03-16T18:33:49.930
Analyzed
CVSSv3.1: 5.3 (MEDIUM)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | dronecode | px4_drone_autopilot | < 1.17.0 | Yes |
| Application | dronecode | px4_drone_autopilot | 1.17.0 | Yes |
| Application | dronecode | px4_drone_autopilot | 1.17.0 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For dronecode's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.