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CVE-2026-53252
Bluetooth: fix memory leak in error path of hci_alloc_dev()
Published 2026-06-25 (4 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/bluetooth. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-53252 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixedDLA-4665-1 · 2026-07-03 · text | 6.1.176-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4665-1 shipped the fix on 2026-07-03, in 6.1.176-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.94-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.94-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.0.13-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.13-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.0.13-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.13-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
Early failures in Bluetooth HCI UART configuration leak SRCU percpu memory. When device initialization fails before hci_register_dev() completes, the HCI_UNREGISTER flag is never set. As a result, when the device reference count reaches zero, bt_host_release() evaluates this flag as false and falls back to a direct kfree(hdev). Because hci_release_dev() is bypassed, the SRCU struct initialized early in hci_alloc_dev() is never cleaned up, resulting in a leak of percpu memory. Fix the leak by explicitly calling cleanup_srcu_struct() in the fallback (unregistered) branch of bt_host_release() before freeing the device.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
net/bluetooth/hci_sysfs.c
- What this is
- BLUETOOTH SUBSYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on net/bluetooth/ · linux-bluetooth@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- bluetooth
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_BT /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w bluetoothPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
- trixie, forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, s390x/s390x
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switch
- CONFIG_BT
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-06-25 (4 months ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.13%, higher than 2.4% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/bluetooth
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.15.209 | 5.15.210 | 5b7dfca6f852 |
| 6.1.167 | 6.1.176 | c016118b9e51 |
| 6.6.97 | 6.6.143 | 0622e527a31d |
| 6.12.36 | 6.12.94 | bc2efe73c194 |
| 6.16 | 6.18.36 | ce4b4cac3c57 |
| 6.16 | 7.0.13 | f82799407a50 |
| 6.16 | 7.1 | 37b3009bf597 |
| 5.10.259 | 0 | 0 |
| 6.15.5 | 0 | 0 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4671-1 | 2026-07-05 | bullseye 6.1.176-1~deb11u1 | tracker |
| DLA-4665-1 | 2026-07-03 | bookworm 6.1.176-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-53252, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.