---
id: "CVE-2026-118603"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-118603"]
title: "Alpine iLX-F511 car stereo: vCard parsing overflow lets attacker run code as root"
severity: "high"
cvss: 8.0
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["alpine", "automotive", "bluetooth", "embedded", "ilx-f511", "infrastructure"]
not_affected_if: ["bluetooth-disabled", "no-alpine-ilx-f511"]
published_at: "2026-10-28T17:18:27+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-28T17:34:09+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-28T17:34:26+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-118603", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-28T17:34:09+00:00"}]
---

# Alpine iLX-F511 car stereo: vCard parsing overflow lets attacker run code as root

A stack-based buffer overflow in how the Alpine iLX-F511 head unit parses vCard data lets an attacker run arbitrary code with root privileges. The attack needs the head unit to connect to a malicious Bluetooth device, which is a user action.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check the head unit's firmware version against the vendor's advisory (unknown in the sources)
- Check whether the device is an Alpine iLX-F511 unit (unknown in the sources)

## Fix

- Update the iLX-F511 firmware to a fixed version (unknown in the sources)
- Avoid pairing with unknown Bluetooth devices until a fix is installed

## Timeline

- 2026-10-28T17:34:09+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-118603

## From the sources

Alpine iLX-F511 vCard Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected Alpine iLX-F511 devices. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must connect to a malicious Bluetooth device.

The specific flaw exists within the parsing of vCard data. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-29017.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_