// For flags

CVE-2023-53252

Bluetooth: use RCU for hci_conn_params and iterate safely in hci_sync

Severity Score

6.0
*CVSS v3.1

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

0
*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

-
*KEV

Decision

-
*SSVC
Descriptions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: use RCU for hci_conn_params and iterate safely in hci_sync hci_update_accept_list_sync iterates over hdev->pend_le_conns and
hdev->pend_le_reports, and waits for controller events in the loop body,
without holding hdev lock. Meanwhile, these lists and the items may be modified e.g. by
le_scan_cleanup. This can invalidate the list cursor or any other item
in the list, resulting to invalid behavior (eg use-after-free). Use RCU for the hci_conn_params action lists. Since the loop bodies in
hci_sync block and we cannot use RCU or hdev->lock for the whole loop,
copy list items first and then iterate on the copy. Only the flags field
is written from elsewhere, so READ_ONCE/WRITE_ONCE should guarantee we
read valid values. Free params everywhere with hci_conn_params_free so the cleanup is
guaranteed to be done properly. This fixes the following, which can be triggered e.g. by BlueZ new
mgmt-tester case "Add + Remove Device Nowait - Success", or by changing
hci_le_set_cig_params to always return false, and running iso-tester: ==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
Read of size 8 at addr ffff888001265018 by task kworker/u3:0/32 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014
Workqueue: hci0 hci_cmd_sync_work
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl (./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:134 lib/dump_stack.c:107)
print_report (mm/kasan/report.c:320 mm/kasan/report.c:430)
? __virt_addr_valid (./include/linux/mmzone.h:1915 ./include/linux/mmzone.h:2011 arch/x86/mm/physaddr.c:65)
? hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:538)
? hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
? __pfx_hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2780)
? mutex_lock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:282)
? __pfx_mutex_lock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:282)
? __pfx_mutex_unlock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:538)
? __pfx_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2861)
hci_cmd_sync_work (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:306)
process_one_work (./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.h:27 kernel/workqueue.c:2399)
worker_thread (./include/linux/list.h:292 kernel/workqueue.c:2538)
? __pfx_worker_thread (kernel/workqueue.c:2480)
kthread (kernel/kthread.c:376)
? __pfx_kthread (kernel/kthread.c:331)
ret_from_fork (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:314)
</TASK> Allocated by task 31:
kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:46)
kasan_set_track (mm/kasan/common.c:52)
__kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:374 mm/kasan/common.c:383)
hci_conn_params_add (./include/linux/slab.h:580 ./include/linux/slab.h:720 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2277)
hci_connect_le_scan (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:1419 net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:1589)
hci_connect_cis (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:2266)
iso_connect_cis (net/bluetooth/iso.c:390)
iso_sock_connect (net/bluetooth/iso.c:899)
__sys_connect (net/socket.c:2003 net/socket.c:2020)
__x64_sys_connect (net/socket.c:2027)
do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80)
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:120) Freed by task 15:
kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:46)
kasan_set_track (mm/kasan/common.c:52)
kasan_save_free_info (mm/kasan/generic.c:523)
__kasan_slab_free (mm/kasan/common.c:238 mm/kasan/common.c:200 mm/kasan/common.c:244)
__kmem_cache_free (mm/slub.c:1807 mm/slub.c:3787 mm/slub.c:3800)
hci_conn_params_del (net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2323)
le_scan_cleanup (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:202)
process_one_work (./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.
---truncated---

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: use RCU for hci_conn_params and iterate safely in hci_sync hci_update_accept_list_sync iterates over hdev->pend_le_conns and hdev->pend_le_reports, and waits for controller events in the loop body, without holding hdev lock. Meanwhile, these lists and the items may be modified e.g. by le_scan_cleanup. This can invalidate the list cursor or any other item in the list, resulting to invalid behavior (eg use-after-free). Use RCU for the hci_conn_params action lists. Since the loop bodies in hci_sync block and we cannot use RCU or hdev->lock for the whole loop, copy list items first and then iterate on the copy. Only the flags field is written from elsewhere, so READ_ONCE/WRITE_ONCE should guarantee we read valid values. Free params everywhere with hci_conn_params_free so the cleanup is guaranteed to be done properly. This fixes the following, which can be triggered e.g. by BlueZ new mgmt-tester case "Add + Remove Device Nowait - Success", or by changing hci_le_set_cig_params to always return false, and running iso-tester: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841) Read of size 8 at addr ffff888001265018 by task kworker/u3:0/32 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014 Workqueue: hci0 hci_cmd_sync_work Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl (./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:134 lib/dump_stack.c:107) print_report (mm/kasan/report.c:320 mm/kasan/report.c:430) ? __virt_addr_valid (./include/linux/mmzone.h:1915 ./include/linux/mmzone.h:2011 arch/x86/mm/physaddr.c:65) ? hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841) kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:538) ? hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841) hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841) ? __pfx_hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2780) ? mutex_lock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:282) ? __pfx_mutex_lock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:282) ? __pfx_mutex_unlock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:538) ? __pfx_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2861) hci_cmd_sync_work (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:306) process_one_work (./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.h:27 kernel/workqueue.c:2399) worker_thread (./include/linux/list.h:292 kernel/workqueue.c:2538) ? __pfx_worker_thread (kernel/workqueue.c:2480) kthread (kernel/kthread.c:376) ? __pfx_kthread (kernel/kthread.c:331) ret_from_fork (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:314) </TASK> Allocated by task 31: kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:46) kasan_set_track (mm/kasan/common.c:52) __kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:374 mm/kasan/common.c:383) hci_conn_params_add (./include/linux/slab.h:580 ./include/linux/slab.h:720 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2277) hci_connect_le_scan (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:1419 net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:1589) hci_connect_cis (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:2266) iso_connect_cis (net/bluetooth/iso.c:390) iso_sock_connect (net/bluetooth/iso.c:899) __sys_connect (net/socket.c:2003 net/socket.c:2020) __x64_sys_connect (net/socket.c:2027) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:120) Freed by task 15: kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:46) kasan_set_track (mm/kasan/common.c:52) kasan_save_free_info (mm/kasan/generic.c:523) __kasan_slab_free (mm/kasan/common.c:238 mm/kasan/common.c:200 mm/kasan/common.c:244) __kmem_cache_free (mm/slub.c:1807 mm/slub.c:3787 mm/slub.c:3800) hci_conn_params_del (net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2323) le_scan_cleanup (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:202) process_one_work (./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt. ---truncated---

This update provides the initial livepatch for this kernel update. This update does not contain any fixes and will be updated with livepatches later.

*Credits: N/A
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Attack Vector
Adjacent
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
None
* Common Vulnerability Scoring System
SSVC
  • Decision:-
Exploitation
-
Automatable
-
Tech. Impact
-
* Organization's Worst-case Scenario
Timeline
  • 2025-09-15 CVE Reserved
  • 2025-09-15 CVE Published
  • 2025-09-15 CVE Updated
  • 2025-11-22 EPSS Updated
  • ---------- Exploited in Wild
  • ---------- KEV Due Date
  • ---------- First Exploit
CWE
  • CWE-820: Missing Synchronization
CAPEC
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
Vendor Product Version Other Status
Vendor Product Version Other Status <-- --> Vendor Product Version Other Status
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.17 < 6.1.42
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.17 < 6.1.42"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.17 < 6.4.7
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.17 < 6.4.7"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.17 < 6.5
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.17 < 6.5"
en
Affected