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BluezApplication

CVE-2023-44431

HIGH · 8.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
83/100
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
BlueZ Audio Profile AVRCP Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code via Bluetooth on affected installations of BlueZ. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must connect to a malicious device. The specific flaw exists within the handling of the AVRCP protocol. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-19909.

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

BlueZ contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in its AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) implementation. The flaw exists in the handling of AVRCP protocol messages where user-supplied data is copied to a fixed-length stack buffer without validating the data length first. An attacker within Bluetooth range can exploit this by tricking a user into connecting to a malicious Bluetooth device, potentially achieving root-level code execution.

MitigationAvoid connecting to untrusted or unknown Bluetooth devices. Apply vendor-provided BlueZ security updates once available. For high-risk environments, consider disabling Bluetooth if not required, though this may not be practical for all deployments.

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
BluezApplication
Affected:= 5.66

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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 BlueZ version
    Run `bluetoothd --version` or check the package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l | grep bluez` on Debian-based systems)
    Affected if The installed version equals 5.66 exactly (BlueZ = 5.66)
  2. Confirm Bluetooth service is active
    Run `systemctl is-active bluetooth` or check `systemctl status bluetooth`
    Affected if The Bluetooth service is running and enabled, as the attacker needs to connect to the device to trigger the overflow
  3. Check for active AVRCP connections
    Use `bluetoothctl info` to list paired devices, or run `btmon` to monitor Bluetooth traffic for AVRCP protocol activity
    Affected if Any Bluetooth device is connected that uses AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) for media control functionality
  4. Inspect BlueZ configuration for AVRCP
    Check /etc/bluetooth/ directory for main.conf or any profile configuration files that enable AVRCP; look for `Enable=Socket` or AVRCP-specific settings
    Affected if AVRCP profile support is explicitly enabled in the BlueZ configuration files

A system is affected if it runs BlueZ version 5.66 with an active Bluetooth service and AVRCP support enabled, allowing a malicious paired Bluetooth device to trigger the buffer overflow during connection.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid connecting to untrusted or unknown Bluetooth devices. Apply vendor-provided BlueZ security updates once available. For high-risk environments, consider disabling Bluetooth if not required, though this may not be practical for all deployments.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable BlueZ release (newer than 5.66)

  1. 1. Identify the current BlueZ version installed on the system (e.g., via `bluetoothd --version` or package manager)
  2. 2. Check if BlueZ 5.66 is the version in use
  3. 3. Update the BlueZ package to the latest available version through the distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt update && apt upgrade bluez` for Debian/Ubuntu, or equivalent for other distributions)
  4. 4. Alternatively, download and compile the latest stable BlueZ release from the official BlueZ source (bluez.git.kernel.org)
  5. 5. After upgrading, restart the Bluetooth service (e.g., `systemctl restart bluetooth`)
  6. 6. Verify the new version is running and test Bluetooth functionality
Caveat Major BlueZ upgrades may introduce configuration changes or deprecate older Bluetooth profiles; verify compatibility with dependent Bluetooth applications after upgrade

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

Fix this in Bluez Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,970
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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-2023-44431 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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