CVE-2023-53762
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.2%
Published
Dec 8, 2025
CISA due date
—
Cloudanix analysis
A bug in how Linux manages Bluetooth connections could let a local attacker crash the computer or run code with higher privileges.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Low Privilege
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Impact
- Denial Of Service
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Use After Free
- Remediation
- Upgrade
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
Use-after-free in hci_disconnect_all_sync when a Bluetooth connection object is freed by concurrent controller event processing, allowing subsequent access to freed memory in hci_set_powered_sync and related paths.
Why it matters to the business
Kernel crashes or potential memory corruption on Linux systems with Bluetooth enabled, risking denial of service or local privilege escalation; low exploitation likelihood but urgent patching needed for affected Ubuntu 20.04 LTS deployments despite the 325-day publication window.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker triggers Bluetooth connection setup and concurrent controller events that delete connections while hci_disconnect_all_sync iterates the list, resulting in access to a freed hci_conn structure; no named threat actors or ransomware campaigns observed and EPSS remains low with minimal upward trend.
How to fix it
Upgrade the Linux kernel on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to version 5.4.0-88.99 or newer; disable Bluetooth via rfkill or kernel configuration if the feature is unused.
How to confirm the fix worked
Confirm updated kernel version with uname -r, rebuild and test Bluetooth connection workflows, and verify no KASAN reports in hci_sync.c during stress testing.
Typical attack path
- Initiate Bluetooth ISO or SCO connection via socket operations
- Trigger concurrent HCI events that invoke hci_disconn_complete_evt and free the connection
- Execute hci_cmd_sync_work leading to hci_set_powered_sync accessing the freed object
How to detect it
Search kernel logs and dmesg for KASAN slab-use-after-free reports referencing hci_set_powered_sync or hci_sync.c; monitor Bluetooth worker threads and hci_cmd_sync_work activity for unexpected crashes.
- BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_set_powered_sync
- hci_disconnect_all_sync
- hci_cmd_sync_work [bluetooth]
- kworker/u9:0
What your security team should do
- Prioritize kernel package updates across all Ubuntu 20.04 systems within the next maintenance window
- Temporarily disable Bluetooth services where operationally feasible
- Add kernel crash and Bluetooth worker thread monitoring to existing SIEM rules
The record
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: <TASK> 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 </TASK> 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 ==================================================================
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Kernel | 5.17.0 | 6.4.16 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_19 | 0 | 1-150600.13.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1.150600.12.38.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1.150600.12.38.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1.150600.12.38.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.84.1 |
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