Description

Malformed or out-of-sequence frames at the Aviation Very High Frequency Link Control X.25 layers cause repeated resets which may result in increased workload and reduced situational awareness. This type of attack can be carried out remotely over radio frequency.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.3",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-07T19:17:34.343Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-07T19:17:34.343Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A denial of service vulnerability exists within the Aviation Very High Frequency Link Control X.25 layers. The vulnerability is characterized by improper handling of malformed or out-of-sequence frames, which induces repeated communication resets. The primary impact of successful exploitation is an increased operational workload for flight crews and a significant reduction in situational awareness due to continuous link disruption. The affected systems encompass avionics and communications infrastructure utilizing the specified protocol layers. The risk implications are severe given the safety-critical nature of aviation communications. The attack can be executed remotely over radio frequency without requiring authentication, allowing malicious actors within radio range to broadcast crafted frames. Exploitation requirements are limited to the capability to transmit radio frequency signals capable of interacting with the vulnerable data link control layers.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides in the state machine and frame validation logic of the Aviation Very High Frequency Link Control X.25 layers. The root cause stems from the protocol implementation's inability to gracefully handle malformed or out-of-sequence data frames without destabilizing the session state. When an attacker transmits maliciously crafted or intentionally misordered frames over the radio frequency medium, the receiving X.25 layer encounters parsing errors or state synchronization failures.\nThe attack flow begins with the adversary positioning a radio frequency transmitter within operational range of the target aviation communication system. The attacker then injects malformed or out-of-sequence frames directly into the communication channel targeting the X.25 protocol layers. Upon receiving these invalid frames, the vulnerable component's error-handling routines trigger a session reset to attempt recovery. By continuously transmitting these anomalous frames, the attacker forces the system into an infinite loop of repeated resets and re-negotiations.\nNetwork exposure is exclusively remote over radio frequency, requiring no prior authentication or elevated privileges. The payload behavior does not involve arbitrary code execution; rather, it exploits protocol logic flaws to consume processing resources and disrupt communication continuity. The post-exploitation impact manifests as persistent denial of service, rendering the affected data link unreliable, degrading communication capabilities, increasing pilot workload, and ultimately reducing situational awareness during critical operational phases."
}