Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2 hci_sysfs device_del null pointer dereference

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9.5	$0-$5k	0.16+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as very critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. This impacts the function device_del of the component hci_sysfs. This manipulation causes null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-97975. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. It has been declared as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function device_del of the component hci_sysfs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. 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: hci_sysfs: Fix NULL pointer dereference in device_del() A NULL pointer dereference in klist_put() occurs when a child device (such as a BNEP network device in bnep_session) is concurrently being unregistered while hci_conn_del_sysfs() reparents child devices. This is caused by a race condition between hci_conn_del_sysfs() and concurrent child device unregistration (e.g. bnep_session calling unregister_netdev()). During device unregistration, device_del() snapshots a non-NULL parent pointer. Concurrently, hci_conn_del_sysfs() finds the child device using device_find_any_child() and calls device_move() to reparent it to NULL, which removes the node from its parent's klist and clears knode_parent. Subsequently, device_del() calls klist_del(&dev->p->knode_parent) using the stale parent snapshot, causing klist_put() to dereference knode_klist(n)->put on an already removed node, resulting in a NULL pointer dereference. This race was introduced by commit 27aabf27fd01 ("Bluetooth: fix use-after-free in device_for_each_child()"), which replaced device_find_child(..., __match_tty) with device_find_any_child() in hci_conn_del_sysfs(). That change was intended to avoid a use-after-free where conn->dev outlived its parent hdev->dev when child devices held references to conn->dev, because conn->dev only held a reference to hdev->dev while registered in sysfs. Fix the issue properly by taking an explicit reference to the parent device with get_device(&hdev->dev) in hci_conn_init_sysfs() and dropping it with put_device(parent) in bt_link_release() when the conn device is freed. This ensures that hdev->dev remains valid for the entire lifecycle of conn->dev, resolving the underlying use-after-free. With the parent reference held properly, restore the __match_tty filter in hci_conn_del_sysfs() so that device_move() is only invoked on persistent RFCOMM TTY devices as originally intended, eliminating the race condition with unregistering network devices.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-97975 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/25/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch eeabdb25c3209569367e99a85ca9a503b64a646d/9e9ece97b8e716890793de261574b8efef7d8702/9b851b09b392da68bd715601f10a5adb2d8d19b8 is able to eliminate this problem. 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

• 6.18.0
• 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
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3
Patch: eeabdb25c3209569367e99a85ca9a503b64a646d/9e9ece97b8e716890793de261574b8efef7d8702/9b851b09b392da68bd715601f10a5adb2d8d19b8

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/25/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97975 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97975
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-410155

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 15:10
Changes: 09/25/2026 15:10 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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