CVE-2026-80683
Received Received - Intake

Reference Leak in Linux Kernel Bluetooth SCO Socket

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-80683, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-08-28

Last updated on: 2026-08-29

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: SCO: give the socket its own sco_conn reference sco_conn_del() drops a reference it does not own. It takes one transient reference via sco_conn_hold_unless_zero() and releases it with the sco_conn_put() that follows sco_sock_hold(); the additional put in the !sk branch releases a second one: conn = sco_conn_hold_unless_zero(conn); ... sk = sco_sock_hold(conn); sco_conn_unlock(conn); sco_conn_put(conn); if (!sk) { sco_conn_put(conn); return; } When close() races the controller's Disconnection Complete, sco_chan_del() clears conn->sk and drops the socket's reference while sco_conn_del() is running. sco_conn_del() then sees sk == NULL, its own put drops the count to zero and frees the conn, and the second put writes to the freed kref: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sco_conn_put.part.0+0x1a/0x190 Write of size 4 at addr ffff8881099dec74 by task kworker/u17:3/413 Workqueue: hci1 hci_rx_work Call Trace: sco_conn_put.part.0+0x1a/0x190 hci_disconn_complete_evt+0x1ee/0x3e0 hci_event_packet+0x54a/0x650 hci_rx_work+0x321/0x3d0 Allocated by task 413: sco_conn_add+0x72/0x1a0 sco_connect_cfm+0x88/0x670 Freed by task 413: sco_conn_del.isra.0+0x3f/0xf0 hci_disconn_complete_evt+0x1ee/0x3e0 refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. The root cause is that the socket stores the connection without holding a reference of its own. __sco_chan_add() does: sco_pi(sk)->conn = conn; so the socket borrows whatever reference its caller happened to hold, and the callers paper over that with ad-hoc holds and puts. Give the socket a counted reference instead: __sco_chan_add() takes one and it is released together with the channel (sco_chan_del()) and in sco_sock_destruct(). With the socket holding its own reference, sco_conn_del() no longer needs the extra put and the redundant hold in sco_conn_ready() goes away. Making the socket own its reference means the connection is now actually freed on the error paths of sco_connect() where it used to leak, which in turn runs sco_conn_free() and its hci_conn_drop(conn->hcon). To keep the hci_conn accounting balanced, make that ownership explicit as well: sco_conn_add() consumes one hci_conn reference and the sco_conn owns it for its lifetime. sco_connect() hands over the reference returned by hci_connect_sco() and no longer drops it on the error paths; sco_connect_cfm(), which is not given a reference, takes one with hci_conn_hold() before handing it to sco_conn_add() (and drops it again if the allocation fails); and the explicit hci_conn_hold() in sco_conn_ready() is removed. Every reference then has a single, clear owner.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-28
Last Modified
2026-08-29
Generated
2026-09-17
AI Q&A
2026-08-28
EPSS Evaluated
2026-09-15
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Bluetooth SCO (Synchronous Connection-Oriented) layer. The issue occurs when a race condition happens between closing a Bluetooth socket and the controller's disconnection process. The kernel incorrectly drops a reference it doesn't own, leading to a double-free that corrupts memory and crashes the system.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's Bluetooth SCO (Synchronous Connection-Oriented) implementation. Detection requires checking the kernel version and Bluetooth stack for the affected code paths. Use commands like 'uname -a' to check the kernel version and 'dmesg | grep -i bluetooth' to look for related errors. If you see KASAN slab-use-after-free errors related to sco_conn_put, the vulnerability may be present.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause system crashes, kernel panics, or arbitrary code execution on affected Linux systems with Bluetooth functionality. It may allow attackers within Bluetooth range to trigger denial-of-service conditions or potentially escalate privileges.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability is a Linux kernel Bluetooth flaw that causes a use-after-free error due to improper reference counting in SCO socket connections. It does not directly impact data privacy or security controls required by standards like GDPR or HIPAA, as it is a low-level system bug rather than a data exposure or access control issue.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest kernel security updates from your Linux distribution. If an update is not immediately available, consider disabling Bluetooth SCO functionality temporarily by unloading the Bluetooth SCO kernel module with 'modprobe -r sco' or disabling Bluetooth entirely until a patch is applied.

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