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CVE-2026-74533
Bluetooth: ISO: fix race of kfree vs kref_get_unless_zero
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem include/net. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74533 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 | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | vulnerable | 6.12.113-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series trixie tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for trixie have historically landed a median of 11 days after publication. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
hci_conn::iso_data is accessed and modified without lock or RCU. This leads to a race [Task hdev->workqueue] [Task 2] iso_recv iso_conn_put(conn) conn = LOAD hcon->iso_data iso_conn_free(conn) iso_conn_hold_unless_zero(conn) hcon->iso_data = NULL kfree(conn) kref_get_unless_zero(&conn->ref) /* UAF */ and also to races in iso_conn_add() vs. iso_conn_free(). Fix by adding spinlock hci_conn::proto_lock and using it to guard hci_conn::iso_data.
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.
include/net/bluetooth/hci_core.h
net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c
net/bluetooth/iso.c
- What this is
- BLUETOOTH SUBSYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on include/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
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 8.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- adjacent network (AV:A)source
- EPSS
- 0.22%, higher than 11.5% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- Subsystem
- include/net
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.13 | 7.1.8 | 876a3e94c70d |
| 6.13 | 7.2 | af24e338bf5d |
| 6.11.11 | 0 | 0 |
| 6.12.2 | 0 | 0 |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:AAttack vector, adjacent network
- The bug is in Bluetooth ISO receive handling (iso_recv in net/bluetooth/iso.c), reached when HCI processes ISO data packets from an adjacent BLE CIS/BIS/LE Audio peer via hci_recv_frame and hdev->workqueue; per kernel guidance Bluetooth radio reachability is Adjacent.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The race is between iso_recv loading hcon->iso_data and iso_conn_free kfree-ing the same iso_conn; an attacker controls both sides by concurrently sending ISO HCI data while disconnecting or closing the ISO socket, without relying on uncontrollable memory layout.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- BTPROTO_ISO sockets require no CAP_NET_ADMIN or CAP_NET_RAW; an unprivileged local process can open and tear down ISO connections, and an adjacent Bluetooth peer can drive iso_recv and hci disconnect events without any credentials on the victim host.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim interaction is needed during exploitation of an active ISO session; a remote peer can race incoming ISO packets against link teardown, and a local attacker can close its own ISO socket while receiving data without opening files or mounts.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The UAF corrupts kernel heap memory in the Bluetooth ISO subsystem on the host, enabling standard local privilege escalation within the kernel boundary rather than crossing VM, container, or IOMMU isolation.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- iso_conn_hold_unless_zero calls kref_get_unless_zero on a freed iso_conn slab object after iso_conn_free kfree, and iso_recv then dereferences conn fields, a classic use-after-free enabling arbitrary kernel memory disclosure.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The UAF on iso_conn (kref, spinlock, sk_buff and socket pointers) permits heap spraying and corruption of conn->rx_skb/rx_len, providing primitives chainable to arbitrary kernel writes and control-flow hijacking.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The use-after-free in iso_conn_hold_unless_zero during concurrent iso_recv and iso_conn_put reliably causes kernel oops or panic on freed slab memory, meeting High availability impact per kernel CVSS guidance for UAF crashes.