Linux Kernel up to 7.0-rc4 Bluetooth l2cap_conn use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0-rc4. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function l2cap_conn of the component Bluetooth. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-23462. The attack is only possible within the local network. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0-rc4 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function l2cap_conn of the component Bluetooth. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: HIDP: Fix possible UAF This fixes the following trace caused by not dropping l2cap_conn reference when user->remove callback is called: [ 97.809249] l2cap_conn_free: freeing conn ffff88810a171c00 [ 97.809907] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1419 Comm: repro_standalon Not tainted 7.0.0-rc1-dirty #14 PREEMPT(lazy) [ 97.809935] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.17.0-debian-1.17.0-1 04/01/2014 [ 97.809947] Call Trace: [ 97.809954] [ 97.809961] dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:122) [ 97.809990] l2cap_conn_free (net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:1808) [ 97.810017] l2cap_conn_del (./include/linux/kref.h:66 net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:1821 net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:1798) [ 97.810055] l2cap_disconn_cfm (net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:7347 (discriminator 1) net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:7340 (discriminator 1)) [ 97.810086] ? __pfx_l2cap_disconn_cfm (net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:7341) [ 97.810117] hci_conn_hash_flush (./include/net/bluetooth/hci_core.h:2152 (discriminator 2) net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:2644 (discriminator 2)) [ 97.810148] hci_dev_close_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:5360) [ 97.810180] ? __pfx_hci_dev_close_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:5285) [ 97.810212] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810242] ? up_write (./arch/x86/include/asm/atomic64_64.h:87 (discriminator 5) ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-arch-fallback.h:2852 (discriminator 5) ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:268 (discriminator 5) ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:3391 (discriminator 5) kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1385 (discriminator 5) kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1643 (discriminator 5)) [ 97.810267] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810290] ? rcu_is_watching (./arch/x86/include/asm/atomic.h:23 ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-arch-fallback.h:457 ./include/linux/context_tracking.h:128 kernel/rcu/tree.c:752) [ 97.810320] hci_unregister_dev (net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:504 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2716) [ 97.810346] vhci_release (drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:691) [ 97.810375] ? __pfx_vhci_release (drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:678) [ 97.810404] __fput (fs/file_table.c:470) [ 97.810430] task_work_run (kernel/task_work.c:235) [ 97.810451] ? __pfx_task_work_run (kernel/task_work.c:201) [ 97.810472] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810495] ? do_raw_spin_unlock (./include/asm-generic/qspinlock.h:128 (discriminator 5) kernel/locking/spinlock_debug.c:142 (discriminator 5)) [ 97.810527] do_exit (kernel/exit.c:972) [ 97.810547] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810574] ? __pfx_do_exit (kernel/exit.c:897) [ 97.810594] ? lock_acquire (kernel/locking/lockdep.c:470 (discriminator 6) kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5870 (discriminator 6) kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5825 (discriminator 6)) [ 97.810616] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810639] ? do_raw_spin_lock (kernel/locking/spinlock_debug.c:95 (discriminator 4) kernel/locking/spinlock_debug.c:118 (discriminator 4)) [ 97.810664] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810688] ? find_held_lock (kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5350 (discriminator 1)) [ 97.810721] do_group_exit (kernel/exit.c:1093) [ 97.810745] get_signal (kernel/signal.c:3007 (discriminator 1)) [ 97.810772] ? security_file_permission (./arch/x86/include/asm/jump_label.h:37 security/security.c:2366) [ 97.810803] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810826] ? vfs_read (fs/read_write.c:555) [ 97.810854] ? __pfx_get_signal (kernel/signal.c:2800) [ 97.810880] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810905] ? __pfx_vfs_read (fs/read_write.c:555) [ 97.810932] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 97.810960] arch_do_signal_or_restart (arch/ ---truncated---

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-23462 since 01/13/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack needs to approached within the local network. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 04/03/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.1.167, 6.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.20, 6.19.10 or 7.0-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 21a47a119f33df9bb157326846390d7e8e1b45ba/45ebe5b900200ac3e01f3470506a44a447825721/7c805b7d1e580eececcc92470292e3dbc42bc3f5/f8b6ed2f06d3baa44f347a0fa2af52433f386463/4d37fa7582aa960ba23e10a7a2596a29f37ad281/dbf666e4fc9bdd975a61bf682b3f75cb0145eedd 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.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.166
• 6.6.129
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.12.72
• 6.12.73
• 6.12.74
• 6.12.75
• 6.12.76
• 6.12.77
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5
• 6.19.6
• 6.19.7
• 6.19.8
• 6.19.9
• 7.0-rc1
• 7.0-rc2
• 7.0-rc3
• 7.0-rc4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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