CVE-2023-53252
Bluetooth: use RCU for hci_conn_params and iterate safely in hci_sync
Severity Score
Exploit Likelihood
Affected Versions
Public Exploits
0Exploited in Wild
-Decision
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.
CVSS Scores
SSVC
- Decision:-
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
References (6)
| URL | Tag | Source |
|---|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e8907f76544ffe225ab95d70f7313267b1d0c76d | Vuln. Introduced |
| URL | Date | SRC |
|---|
| URL | Date | SRC |
|---|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53252 | 2024-04-30 | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2395337 | 2024-04-30 |
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
| ||||||
