Bluetooth: hci_core: Fix use-after-free in vhci_flush()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 35 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_core: Fix use-after-free in vhci_flush() syzbot reported use-after-free in vhci_flush() without repro. [0] From the splat, a thread close()d a vhci file descriptor while its device was being used by iotcl() on another thread. Once the last fd refcnt is released, vhci_release() calls hci_unregister_dev(), hci_free_dev(), and kfree() for struct vhci_data, which is set to hci_dev->dev->driver_data. The problem is that there is no synchronisation after unlinking hdev from hci_dev_list in hci_unregister_dev(). There might be another thread still accessing the hdev which was fetched before the unlink operation. We can use SRCU for such synchronisation. Let's run hci_dev_reset() under SRCU and wait for its completion in hci_unregister_dev(). Another option would be to restore hci_dev->destruct(), which was removed in commit 587ae086f6e4 ("Bluetooth: Remove unused hci-destruct cb"). However, this would not be a good solution, as we should not run hci_unregister_dev() while there are in-flight ioctl() requests, which could lead to another data-race KCSAN splat. Note that other drivers seem to have the same problem, for exmaple, virtbt_remove(). [0]: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in skb_queue_empty_lockless include/linux/skbuff.h:1891 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in skb_queue_purge_reason+0x99/0x360 net/core/skbuff.c:3937 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88807cb8d858 by task syz.1.219/6718 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 6718 Comm: syz.1.219 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc1-syzkaller-00196-g08207f42d3ff #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/07/2025 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x189/0x250 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:408 [inline] print_report+0xd2/0x2b0 mm/kasan/report.c:521 kasan_report+0x118/0x150 mm/kasan/report.c:634 skb_queue_empty_lockless include/linux/skbuff.h:1891 [inline] skb_queue_purge_reason+0x99/0x360 net/core/skbuff.c:3937 skb_queue_purge include/linux/skbuff.h:3368 [inline] vhci_flush+0x44/0x50 drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:69 hci_dev_do_reset net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:552 [inline] hci_dev_reset+0x420/0x5c0 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:592 sock_do_ioctl+0xd9/0x300 net/socket.c:1190 sock_ioctl+0x576/0x790 net/socket.c:1311 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:907 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl+0xf9/0x170 fs/ioctl.c:893 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xfa/0x3b0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7fcf5b98e929 Code: ff ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 a8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007fcf5c7b9038 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007fcf5bbb6160 RCX: 00007fcf5b98e929 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00000000400448cb RDI: 0000000000000009 RBP: 00007fcf5ba10b39 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 00007fcf5bbb6160 R15: 00007ffd6353d528 </TASK> Allocated by task 6535: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:47 [inline] kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:68 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:377 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc+0x93/0xb0 mm/kasan/common.c:394 kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:260 [inline] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x230/0x3d0 mm/slub.c:4359 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:905 [inline] kzalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:1039 [inline] vhci_open+0x57/0x360 drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:635 misc_open+0x2bc/0x330 drivers/char/misc.c:161 chrdev_open+0x4c9/0x5e0 fs/char_dev.c:414 do_dentry_open+0xdf0/0x1970 fs/open.c:964 vfs_open+0x3b/0x340 fs/open.c:1094 do_open fs/namei.c:3887 [inline] path_openat+0x2ee5/0x3830 fs/name ---truncated---
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 3.4 and later | 5.10.259, 5.15.209, 6.1.167, 6.6.97, 6.12.36, 6.15.5, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 3.4 and later Fixed in 5.10.259, 5.15.209, 6.1.167, 6.6.97, 6.12.36, 6.15.5, 6.16 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 3.4 to before 6.6.97; 6.7 to before 6.12.36; 6.13 to before 6.15.5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.4 to before 6.6.97; 6.7 to before 6.12.36; 6.13 to before 6.15.5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.259, 5.15.209, 6.1.167, 6.6.97, 6.12.36, 6.15.5, 6.16
Red Hat 13 advisories
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- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.9.0) bpftool-5.14.0-70.146.1.el9_0, kernel-5.14.0-70.146.1.el9_0, kernel-abi-stablelists-5.14.0-70.146.1.el9_0 +14
- RHSA-2025:15668 Released 2025-09-11 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.4) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4, libperf-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4
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- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.4) bpftool-7.3.0-427.88.1.el9_4, kernel-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.4) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.4) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.88.1.el9_4 +11
- RHSA-2025:15658 Released 2025-09-10 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV E4S (v.9.0) kernel-rt-5.14.0-70.146.1.rt21.218.el9_0, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-70.146.1.rt21.218.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-70.146.1.rt21.218.el9_0 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time E4S (v.9.0) kernel-rt-5.14.0-70.146.1.rt21.218.el9_0, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-70.146.1.rt21.218.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-70.146.1.rt21.218.el9_0 +7
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Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15668 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14009 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13962 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15670 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15227 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15668 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14009 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13960 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13962 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v. 8.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14742 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15035 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14692 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14692 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14985 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15670 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15227 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15668 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS EXTENSION (v.8.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15035 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS TUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14692 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS TUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14985 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13960 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14009 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13962 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13961 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15658 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13961 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14009 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13962 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15658 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time E4S (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15224 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15668 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:14009 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:13962 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV E4S (v.9.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15224 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:15668 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.4)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV E4S (v.9.0)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time E4S (v.9.0)
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38250
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6r74-5vg7-24jv
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 4
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Sources
- CVE-2025-38250 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38250 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6r74-5vg7-24jv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38250 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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