CVE-2023-51594
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 · uneditedBlueZ OBEX Library Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of BlueZ. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must connect to a malicious Bluetooth device. The specific flaw exists within the handling of OBEX protocol parameters. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-20937.
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 confidenceBlueZ OBEX library contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its handling of OBEX protocol parameters. The flaw results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data during OBEX packet parsing, allowing a read past the end of an allocated buffer. Successful exploitation enables information disclosure, and when chained with other vulnerabilities, can lead to arbitrary code execution as root.
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= 5.66CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed BlueZ versionRun `bluetoothd --version` or check your package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l | grep bluez`, `rpm -qa | grep bluez`) to determine the version of BlueZ installed on the systemAffected if The installed version is exactly 5.66
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Locate the BlueZ packageSearch for bluez package files using your package manager: `apt list --installed 2>/dev/null | grep -i bluez` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum list installed bluez` for RHEL/CentOS, or check `/usr/lib/systemd/system/bluetooth.service` for service existenceAffected if A BlueZ package version 5.66 is found installed on the system
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Determine OBEX service statusCheck if the OBEX daemon (obexd) is running or available: run `systemctl status obex@*` or look for obexd process with `ps aux | grep -i obex`, and check for bluetooth/obex related services in systemdAffected if OBEX (obexd) service is enabled or running on the system with BlueZ 5.66 installed
A system is affected if BlueZ version 5.66 is installed and OBEX functionality is available or enabled, as the vulnerability exists in the OBEX library packet parsing code path.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the BlueZ security update addressing CVE-2023-51594. Until a patch is available, limit Bluetooth device pairing to trusted devices and avoid connecting to untrusted Bluetooth peripherals.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-51594 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-51594 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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