Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2026-64433 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions caed4a96d55757c139a899744657c032b6186665, e4369e4e970f3fa4676b76be14c1d315c87f22b6, b346efa825b5e4386f19bc63f81141652d496ec4 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to caed4a96d55757c139a899744657c032b6186665 or e4369e4e970f3fa4676b76be14c1d315c87f22b6 or b346efa825b5e4386f19bc63f81141652d496ec4 or 9531014c60c804e16099885d4a98aedcf31bce8d, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.145 or 6.12.96 or 6.15 or 6.18.39, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 31492b8386e5a243df26ca4a9421f6b041f414d5 up to, but not including, caed4a96d55757c139a899744657c032b6186665; 28826a89fdfd49f3291980c2e68b8a7c5d55e199 up to, but not including, e4369e4e970f3fa4676b76be14c1d315c87f22b6; 1e2e3044c1bc64a64aa0eaf7c17f7832c26c9775 up to, but not including, b346efa825b5e4386f19bc63f81141652d496ec4; 1e2e3044c1bc64a64aa0eaf7c17f7832c26c9775 up to, but not including, 9531014c60c804e16099885d4a98aedcf31bce8d; 1e2e3044c1bc64a64aa0eaf7c17f7832c26c9775 up to, but not including, fa85d985f614bc3feb343000f14a1072e99b0df1; 7e370545b8bdb54ed7f1ae485d6d24d3b62a0b53; 6.6.92 up to, but not including, 6.6.145; 6.12.30 up to, but not including, 6.12.96; and 2 more ranges | caed4a96d55757c139a899744657c032b6186665, e4369e4e970f3fa4676b76be14c1d315c87f22b6, b346efa825b5e4386f19bc63f81141652d496ec4, 9531014c60c804e16099885d4a98aedcf31bce8d, fa85d985f614bc3feb343000f14a1072e99b0df1, 6.6.145 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 6.6.92 up to, but not including, 6.6.145; 6.12.30 up to, but not including, 6.12.96; 6.14.8 up to, but not including, 6.15; 6.15.1 up to, but not including, 6.18.39; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.1.4; 6.15; 7.2 | 6.6.145, 6.12.96, 6.15, 6.18.39, 7.1.4 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: MGMT: Fix UAF of hci_conn_params in add_device_complete add_device_complete() runs from the hci_cmd_sync_work kworker, which holds only hci_req_sync_lock and *not* hci_dev_lock. It calls hci_conn_params_lookup() and then dereferences the returned object (params->flags) without taking hci_dev_lock: params = hci_conn_params_lookup(hdev, &cp->addr.bdaddr, le_addr_type(cp->addr.type)); ... device_flags_changed(NULL, hdev, &cp->addr.bdaddr, cp->addr.type, hdev->conn_flags, params ? params->flags : 0); hci_conn_params_lookup() walks hdev->le_conn_params and is documented to require hdev->lock. A concurrent MGMT_OP_REMOVE_DEVICE (remove_device()), which does run under hci_dev_lock, can call hci_conn_params_free() to list_del() and kfree() the very object the lookup returned, so the subsequent params->flags read touches freed memory [0]. Hold hci_dev_lock() across the hci_conn_params_lookup() and the read of params->flags (and the matching event emission) so the lookup result cannot be freed by a concurrent remove_device() before it is used, honouring the locking contract of hci_conn_params_lookup(). [0]: (trailing page/memory-state dump trimmed) BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in add_device_complete+0x358/0x3d8 net/bluetooth/mgmt.c:7671 Read of size 1 at addr ffff000017ab26c1 by task kworker/u9:8/388 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 388 Comm: kworker/u9:8 Not tainted 7.0.11 #20 PREEMPT Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Workqueue: hci0 hci_cmd_sync_work Call trace: show_stack+0x2c/0x3c arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:499 (C) __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xb4/0xd4 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0x118/0x5d8 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0xb0/0xf4 mm/kasan/report.c:595 __asan_report_load1_noabort+0x20/0x2c mm/kasan/report_generic.c:378 add_device_complete+0x358/0x3d8 net/bluetooth/mgmt.c:7671 hci_cmd_sync_work+0x14c/0x240 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:334 process_one_work+0x628/0xd38 kernel/workqueue.c:3289 process_scheduled_works kernel/workqueue.c:3372 [inline] worker_thread+0x7a8/0xac0 kernel/workqueue.c:3453 kthread+0x39c/0x444 kernel/kthread.c:436 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:860 Allocated by task 3401: kasan_save_stack+0x3c/0x64 mm/kasan/common.c:57 kasan_save_track+0x20/0x3c mm/kasan/common.c:78 kasan_save_alloc_info+0x40/0x54 mm/kasan/generic.c:570 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:398 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc+0xd4/0xd8 mm/kasan/common.c:415 kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:263 [inline] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x1b0/0x458 mm/slub.c:5385 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:950 [inline] kzalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:1188 [inline] hci_conn_params_add+0x10c/0x4b0 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2279 hci_conn_params_set net/bluetooth/mgmt.c:5162 [inline] add_device+0x5b4/0xa54 net/bluetooth/mgmt.c:7755 hci_mgmt_cmd net/bluetooth/hci_sock.c:1721 [inline] hci_sock_sendmsg+0x10b4/0x1dd0 net/bluetooth/hci_sock.c:1841 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:727 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0xe0/0x128 net/socket.c:742 sock_write_iter+0x250/0x390 net/socket.c:1195 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:595 [inline] vfs_write+0x66c/0xab0 fs/read_write.c:688 ksys_write+0x1fc/0x24c fs/read_write.c:740 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:751 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:748 [inline] __arm64_sys_write+0x70/0xa4 fs/read_write.c:748 __invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:35 [inline] invoke_syscall+0x84/0x2a8 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:49 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xe4/0x294 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:132 do_el0_svc+0x44/0x5c arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:151 el0_svc+0x38/0xac arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:724 el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa0/0xe4 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:743 el0t_64_sync+0x198/0x19c arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:596 Freed by task 3740: kasan_save_stack+0x3c/0x64 ---truncated---
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9531014c60c804e16099885d4a98aedcf31bce8d
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b346efa825b5e4386f19bc63f81141652d496ec4
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/caed4a96d55757c139a899744657c032b6186665
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4369e4e970f3fa4676b76be14c1d315c87f22b6
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa85d985f614bc3feb343000f14a1072e99b0df1
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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