CVE-2023-53762
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
Bluetooth: hci_sync: Fix UAF in hci_disconnect_all_sync
Use-after-free can occur in hci_disconnect_all_sync if a connection is deleted by concurrent processing of a controller event.
To prevent this the code now tries to iterate over the list backwards to ensure the links are cleanup before its parents, also it no longer relies on a cursor, instead it always uses the last element since hci_abort_conn_sync is guaranteed to call hci_conn_del.
UAF crash log: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_set_powered_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:5424) [bluetooth] Read of size 8 at addr ffff888009d9c000 by task kworker/u9:0/124
CPU: 0 PID: 124 Comm: kworker/u9:0 Tainted: G W 6.5.0-rc1+ #10 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014 Workqueue: hci0 hci_cmd_sync_work [bluetooth] Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0x5b/0x90 print_report+0xcf/0x670 ? __virt_addr_valid+0xdd/0x160 ? hci_set_powered_sync+0x2c9/0x4a0 [bluetooth] kasan_report+0xa6/0xe0 ? hci_set_powered_sync+0x2c9/0x4a0 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_set_powered_sync+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] hci_set_powered_sync+0x2c9/0x4a0 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_hci_set_powered_sync+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_set_powered_sync+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] hci_cmd_sync_work+0x137/0x220 [bluetooth] process_one_work+0x526/0x9d0 ? __pfx_process_one_work+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_do_raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 ? mark_held_locks+0x1a/0x90 worker_thread+0x92/0x630 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x196/0x1e0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x2c/0x50
Allocated by task 1782: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 hci_conn_add+0xa5/0xa80 [bluetooth] hci_bind_cis+0x881/0x9b0 [bluetooth] iso_connect_cis+0x121/0x520 [bluetooth] iso_sock_connect+0x3f6/0x790 [bluetooth] __sys_connect+0x109/0x130 __x64_sys_connect+0x40/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x60/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8
Freed by task 695: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x50 __kasan_slab_free+0x10a/0x180 __kmem_cache_free+0x14d/0x2e0 device_release+0x5d/0xf0 kobject_put+0xdf/0x270 hci_disconn_complete_evt+0x274/0x3a0 [bluetooth] hci_event_packet+0x579/0x7e0 [bluetooth] hci_rx_work+0x287/0xaa0 [bluetooth] process_one_work+0x526/0x9d0 worker_thread+0x92/0x630 kthread+0x196/0x1e0 ret_from_fork+0x2c/0x50 ==================================================================
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Bluetooth subsystem (hci_disconnect_all_sync) allows local privilege escalation via concurrent controller events.
Vulnerability
Overview
CVE-2023-53762 is a use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Bluetooth subsystem, specifically in the hci_disconnect_all_sync function within net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c. The bug occurs when a connection is deleted by concurrent processing of a controller event while the function is still iterating over the connection list. This leads to accessing freed memory, as evidenced by the KASAN report showing a slab-use-after-free in hci_set_powered_sync [1].
Exploitation
Conditions
An attacker must have the ability to trigger concurrent Bluetooth controller events that cause connection deletion while hci_disconnect_all_sync is executing. This typically requires local access to the system and the ability to interact with the Bluetooth stack, such as through a malicious Bluetooth device or crafted HCI commands. No authentication is needed beyond local user access to trigger the race condition.
Impact
Successful exploitation can lead to a denial of service (system crash) or potentially arbitrary code execution in the kernel context, as use-after-free vulnerabilities often allow an attacker to corrupt kernel memory. The crash log shows a read of size 8 at a freed address, indicating that an attacker could control the freed object to achieve privilege escalation.
Mitigation
The fix, committed to the Linux kernel stable tree, changes the iteration in hci_disconnect_all_sync to traverse the list backwards and no longer relies on a cursor; instead, it always uses the last element because hci_abort_conn_sync guarantees to call hci_conn_del. This prevents the use-after-free by ensuring that links are cleaned up before their parents [1]. Users should apply the latest kernel updates from their distribution.
AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
2Patches
3a30c074f0b5bba3ba53ce1f794d9ba9f9888Vulnerability mechanics
Generated on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
3News mentions
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