Linux Kernel up to 6.4.15/6.5.2 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c hci_sync use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.4.15/6.5.2. Affected by this issue is the function hci_sync of the file net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c. The manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability was named CVE-2023-53762. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.4.15/6.5.2. It has been classified as critical. Affected is the function hci_sync of the file net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_sync: Fix UAF in hci_disconnect_all_sync Use-after-free can occur in hci_disconnect_all_sync if a connection is deleted by concurrent processing of a controller event. To prevent this the code now tries to iterate over the list backwards to ensure the links are cleanup before its parents, also it no longer relies on a cursor, instead it always uses the last element since hci_abort_conn_sync is guaranteed to call hci_conn_del. UAF crash log: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_set_powered_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:5424) [bluetooth] Read of size 8 at addr ffff888009d9c000 by task kworker/u9:0/124 CPU: 0 PID: 124 Comm: kworker/u9:0 Tainted: G W 6.5.0-rc1+ #10 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014 Workqueue: hci0 hci_cmd_sync_work [bluetooth] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x5b/0x90 print_report+0xcf/0x670 ? __virt_addr_valid+0xdd/0x160 ? hci_set_powered_sync+0x2c9/0x4a0 [bluetooth] kasan_report+0xa6/0xe0 ? hci_set_powered_sync+0x2c9/0x4a0 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_set_powered_sync+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] hci_set_powered_sync+0x2c9/0x4a0 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_hci_set_powered_sync+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_set_powered_sync+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] hci_cmd_sync_work+0x137/0x220 [bluetooth] process_one_work+0x526/0x9d0 ? __pfx_process_one_work+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_do_raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 ? mark_held_locks+0x1a/0x90 worker_thread+0x92/0x630 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x196/0x1e0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x2c/0x50 </TASK> Allocated by task 1782: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 hci_conn_add+0xa5/0xa80 [bluetooth] hci_bind_cis+0x881/0x9b0 [bluetooth] iso_connect_cis+0x121/0x520 [bluetooth] iso_sock_connect+0x3f6/0x790 [bluetooth] __sys_connect+0x109/0x130 __x64_sys_connect+0x40/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x60/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 Freed by task 695: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x50 __kasan_slab_free+0x10a/0x180 __kmem_cache_free+0x14d/0x2e0 device_release+0x5d/0xf0 kobject_put+0xdf/0x270 hci_disconn_complete_evt+0x274/0x3a0 [bluetooth] hci_event_packet+0x579/0x7e0 [bluetooth] hci_rx_work+0x287/0xaa0 [bluetooth] process_one_work+0x526/0x9d0 worker_thread+0x92/0x630 kthread+0x196/0x1e0 ret_from_fork+0x2c/0x50 ==================================================================

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2023-53762 since 12/08/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/23/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 277724 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2023-53762), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.4.16 or 6.5.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch a30c074f0b5b7f909a15c978fbc96a29e2f94e42/ba3ba53ce1f76fc372b8f918fece4f9b1e41acd4/94d9ba9f9888b748d4abd2aa1547af56ae85f772 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (277724) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2756). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• NetApp FAS
• NetApp AFF
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Microsoft Azure Linux

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.4.0
• 6.4.1
• 6.4.2
• 6.4.3
• 6.4.4
• 6.4.5
• 6.4.6
• 6.4.7
• 6.4.8
• 6.4.9
• 6.4.10
• 6.4.11
• 6.4.12
• 6.4.13
• 6.4.14
• 6.4.15
• 6.5.0
• 6.5.1
• 6.5.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion