Bluetooth: fix memory leak in error path of hci_alloc_dev()
Priority LOW 24CWE-401Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: fix memory leak in error path of hci_alloc_dev() 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.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.0013 2nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143 +6Red Hat: 3 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 | 5.15.209 to before 5.15.210; 6.1.167 to before 6.1.176; 6.6.97 to before 6.6.143; 6.12.36 to before 6.12.94; 5.10.259 to before 5.11; 6.15.5 to before 6.16 | 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 5.11, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.16 and later | 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.209 to before 5.15.210; 6.1.167 to before 6.1.176; 6.6.97 to before 6.6.143; 6.12.36 to before 6.12.94; 5.10.259 to before 5.11; 6.15.5 to before 6.16 Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 5.11, 6.16 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.16 and later Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 13
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.10.259 to before 5.11; 6.1.167 to before 6.1.176; 6.6.97 to before 6.6.143; 6.12.36 to before 6.12.94; 6.15.5 to before 6.16; 6.16.1 to before 6.18.36; 6.19 to before 7.0.13 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.209:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15.209 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.10.259 to before 5.11; 6.1.167 to before 6.1.176; 6.6.97 to before 6.6.143; 6.12.36 to before 6.12.94; 6.15.5 to before 6.16; 6.16.1 to before 6.18.36; 6.19 to before 7.0.13 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.209:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15.209 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 5.11, 6.16
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-53252
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7mrh-gfr7-2p24
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b7dfca6f852e6b9d809fd0263b5427cc9fb33fd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c016118b9e51eeaf5bc93850d4c455a3b583c0aa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0622e527a31d4b44737fed5c1a2ac1fc2cfb5184
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc2efe73c194a74839d7cf57b63880d97e21d309
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce4b4cac3c5749b6aa75e62e2991ae2263f2f889
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f82799407a50af7bcacacf09cc9b279af8fe9b81
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/37b3009bf5976e8ab77c8b9a9bc3bbd7ff49e37f
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- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-53252 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-53252 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7mrh-gfr7-2p24 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-53252 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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