dbcve.org
Bluetooth Core SpecificationApplication · Bluetooth

CVE-2022-25836

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.3 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Bluetooth® Low Energy Pairing in Bluetooth Core Specification v4.0 through v5.3 may permit an unauthenticated MITM to acquire credentials with two pairing devices via adjacent access when the MITM negotiates Legacy Passkey Pairing with the pairing Initiator and Secure Connections Passkey Pairing with the pairing Responder and brute forces the Passkey entered by the user into the Initiator. The MITM attacker can use the identified Passkey value to complete authentication with the Responder via Bluetooth pairing method confusion.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This CVE describes a pairing method confusion attack in Bluetooth Core Specification v4.0-v5.3 where an unauthenticated MITM attacker positioned between two pairing devices can exploit the difference between Legacy Passkey Pairing and Secure Connections Passkey Pairing. The attacker negotiates Legacy Passkey Pairing with the Initiator and Secure Connections Passkey Pairing with the Responder, then brute-forces the passkey entered by the user to acquire credentials for both devices.

MitigationThis is a specification-level vulnerability requiring firmware updates from Bluetooth chip vendors and OS manufacturers; organizations should inventory BLE-enabled devices, monitor vendor advisories, and apply patches as they become available.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Bluetooth Core SpecificationApplication
Affected:>= 4.0, <= 5.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Bluetooth firmware version
    On Linux: `btmgmt --version` or check `/sys/class/bluetooth/hci0/version`; On Windows: `bcdedit /enum all` or check device manager Bluetooth radio properties; On macOS: `system_profiler SPBluetoothDataType`
    Affected if Version is between 4.0 and 5.3 inclusive (Bluetooth Core Specification)
  2. Confirm Passkey Entry pairing is supported
    Check Bluetooth security pairing methods: On Linux use `hciconfig hci0 features` or `btmgmt iocap`; On Android check Settings > Bluetooth > Pairing method preferences; Look for 'Passkey Entry' or 'Passkey' in supported authentication methods
    Affected if The device supports Passkey Entry as a pairing method
  3. Determine if both Legacy and Secure Connections are enabled
    Check device Bluetooth security settings: On Linux `hciconfig hci0 sspmode` shows Secure Simple Pairing (SC); On Windows check Bluetooth settings for 'Secure Connections' option; Verify both Legacy Pairing and Secure Connections modes can be negotiated
    Affected if Device supports both Legacy Passkey Pairing and Secure Connections Passkey Pairing
  4. Verify BLE is active
    On Linux: `hciconfig hci0` shows LE flags; On Windows: Device Manager shows 'Bluetooth LE' adapter; On Android: Settings shows Bluetooth LE enabled
    Affected if Bluetooth Low Energy is enabled and used for pairing

If the device runs Bluetooth Core 4.0-5.3, supports Passkey Entry pairing, and allows both Legacy and Secure Connections passkey methods, the pairing method confusion attack is possible during the passkey entry process.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.3
Interim mitigation

This is a specification-level vulnerability requiring firmware updates from Bluetooth chip vendors and OS manufacturers; organizations should inventory BLE-enabled devices, monitor vendor advisories, and apply patches as they become available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Bluetooth Core Specification v5.4 or later (contact your silicon/vendor for specific fixed firmware releases)

  1. 1. Identify the Bluetooth controller firmware and host stack implementations used in your devices.
  2. 2. Contact your Bluetooth chip vendor or module supplier to obtain firmware updates that implement the Bluetooth Core Specification v5.4 or later, which addresses this pairing method confusion vulnerability.
  3. 3. Verify that the updated Bluetooth stack supports Secure Connections Only mode if available, as this can mitigate some pairing attacks.
  4. 4. Apply the vendor-provided firmware update to affected devices following the vendor's specific update procedure.
  5. 5. After updating, verify that BLE pairing now properly validates both ends of the connection to prevent MITM attacks during passkey entry.
Caveat Upgrading Bluetooth firmware may affect pairing behavior; ensure all device fleets support the new specification version before broad deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bluetooth Core Specification Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,920
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,672.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-25836 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-25836 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data