Linux Kernel up to 7.3-rc4 Bluetooth send_cancel use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$5k-$25k	1.35

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.3-rc4. Affected by this issue is the function send_cancel of the component Bluetooth. Executing a manipulation can lead to use after free. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-98632. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.3-rc4. It has been declared as very critical. This vulnerability affects the function send_cancel 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. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: mgmt: Dequeue pending mesh_send_sync entries on cancel In send_cancel(), pending mesh_tx objects are removed from the hdev->mesh_pending list and freed via mesh_send_complete(). However, if a mesh transmission was already queued onto hdev->cmd_sync_work_list via mesh_next(), the queued entry retains a raw pointer to mesh_tx. When hci_cmd_sync_work later processes the entry, it attempts to execute mesh_send_sync and its destroy callback mesh_send_start_complete using the already freed mesh_tx pointer, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by invoking hci_cmd_sync_dequeue() for mesh_send_sync on the target mesh_tx before completing it. If the entry is found and dequeued, its destroy callback will complete and free the object; otherwise, mesh_send_complete() is called directly. Additionally, ensure the transmission queue advances after cancellation or errors. In mesh_send_start_complete(), call mesh_next() on error unless err is -ECANCELED, because hci_cmd_sync_dequeue() holds hdev->cmd_sync_work_lock and calling mesh_next() synchronously would deadlock. Instead, advance the queue in send_cancel() once the lock is released and if no transmission is in progress.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-98632 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch f84e52829021d00bca8e067302f597c71af1f71a/718a8ffa180d469f99ad4f746f00cafd39456415/084be90948632a5a358821e687b11a14445aae76/2189a219397d8e73808a67c4aade837b635705da/03ced4687fb79286be7fdee0fc58d2c74de3e7bb/71af682ba4692c2ed9ace4c3d4ca462ae368c029 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

• 6.1.188
• 6.6.157
• 6.12.111
• 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
• 6.18.53
• 6.18.54
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4

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: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
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 6.1.189/6.6.158/6.12.112/6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5
Patch: f84e52829021d00bca8e067302f597c71af1f71a/718a8ffa180d469f99ad4f746f00cafd39456415/084be90948632a5a358821e687b11a14445aae76/2189a219397d8e73808a67c4aade837b635705da/03ced4687fb79286be7fdee0fc58d2c74de3e7bb/71af682ba4692c2ed9ace4c3d4ca462ae368c029

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/18/2026 +23 days Advisory disclosed
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98632 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98632
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-422170

Entryinfo

Created: 10/18/2026 20:49
Changes: 10/18/2026 20:49 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

Discussion

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