Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2023-53673

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-07

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.200 / 6.1.42 or later.

See remediation →

80/100

Remediation priority · High

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_event: call disconnect callback before deleting conn In hci_cs_disconnect, we do hci_conn_del even if disconnection failed. ISO, L2CAP and SCO connections refer to the hci_conn without hci_conn_get, so disconn_cfm must be called so they can clean up their conn, otherwise use-after-free occurs. ISO: ========================================================== iso_sock_connect:880: sk 00000000eabd6557 iso_connect_cis:356: 70:1a:b8:98:ff:a2 -> 28:3d:c2:4a:7e:da ... iso_conn_add:140: hcon 000000001696f1fd conn 00000000b6251073 hci_dev_put:1487: hci0 orig refcnt 17 __iso_chan_add:214: conn 00000000b6251073 iso_sock_clear_timer:117: sock 00000000eabd6557 state 3 ... hci_rx_work:4085: hci0 Event packet hci_event_packet:7601: hci0: event 0x0f hci_cmd_status_evt:4346: hci0: opcode 0x0406 hci_cs_disconnect:2760: hci0: status 0x0c hci_sent_cmd_data:3107: hci0 opcode 0x0406 hci_conn_del:1151: hci0 hcon 000000001696f1fd handle 2560 hci_conn_unlink:1102: hci0: hcon 000000001696f1fd hci_conn_drop:1451: hcon 00000000d8521aaf orig refcnt 2 hci_chan_list_flush:2780: hcon 000000001696f1fd hci_dev_put:1487: hci0 orig refcnt 21 hci_dev_put:1487: hci0 orig refcnt 20 hci_req_cmd_complete:3978: opcode 0x0406 status 0x0c ... <no iso_* activity on sk/conn> ... iso_sock_sendmsg:1098: sock 00000000dea5e2e0, sk 00000000eabd6557 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000668 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:iso_sock_sendmsg (net/bluetooth/iso.c:1112) bluetooth ========================================================== L2CAP: ================================================================== hci_cmd_status_evt:4359: hci0: opcode 0x0406 hci_cs_disconnect:2760: hci0: status 0x0c hci_sent_cmd_data:3085: hci0 opcode 0x0406 hci_conn_del:1151: hci0 hcon ffff88800c999000 handle 3585 hci_conn_unlink:1102: hci0: hcon ffff88800c999000 hci_chan_list_flush:2780: hcon ffff88800c999000 hci_chan_del:2761: hci0 hcon ffff88800c999000 chan ffff888018ddd280 ... BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_send_acl+0x2d/0x540 [bluetooth] Read of size 8 at addr ffff888018ddd298 by task bluetoothd/1175 CPU: 0 PID: 1175 Comm: bluetoothd Tainted: G E 6.4.0-rc4+ #2 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x5b/0x90 print_report+0xcf/0x670 ? __virt_addr_valid+0xf8/0x180 ? hci_send_acl+0x2d/0x540 [bluetooth] kasan_report+0xa8/0xe0 ? hci_send_acl+0x2d/0x540 [bluetooth] hci_send_acl+0x2d/0x540 [bluetooth] ? __pfx___lock_acquire+0x10/0x10 l2cap_chan_send+0x1fd/0x1300 [bluetooth] ? l2cap_sock_sendmsg+0xf2/0x170 [bluetooth] ? __pfx_l2cap_chan_send+0x10/0x10 [bluetooth] ? lock_release+0x1d5/0x3c0 ? mark_held_locks+0x1a/0x90 l2cap_sock_sendmsg+0x100/0x170 [bluetooth] sock_write_iter+0x275/0x280 ? __pfx_sock_write_iter+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx___lock_acquire+0x10/0x10 do_iter_readv_writev+0x176/0x220 ? __pfx_do_iter_readv_writev+0x10/0x10 ? find_held_lock+0x83/0xa0 ? selinux_file_permission+0x13e/0x210 do_iter_write+0xda/0x340 vfs_writev+0x1b4/0x400 ? __pfx_vfs_writev+0x10/0x10 ? __seccomp_filter+0x112/0x750 ? populate_seccomp_data+0x182/0x220 ? __fget_light+0xdf/0x100 ? do_writev+0x19d/0x210 do_writev+0x19d/0x210 ? __pfx_do_writev+0x10/0x10 ? mark_held_locks+0x1a/0x90 do_syscall_64+0x60/0x90 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x149/0x210 ? do_syscall_64+0x6c/0x90 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x149/0x210 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc RIP: 0033:0x7ff45cb23e64 Code: 15 d1 1f 0d 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 48 c7 c0 ff ff ff ff eb b8 0f 1f 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d 9d a7 0d 00 00 74 13 b8 14 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 54 c3 0f 1f 00 48 83 ec 28 89 54 24 1c 48 89 RSP: 002b:00007fff21ae09b8 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000014 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: ---truncated---

Technical summary

dbcve analysis

How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 5.7, < 5.15.200>= 5.16, < 6.1.42>= 6.2, < 6.4.7= 6.5

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: Low
Privileges: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.15.200 / 6.1.42 / 6.4.7 or later

Fixed in 5.15.2006.1.426.4.7

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

5.15.200+, 6.1.42+, 6.4.7+, or 6.6+ (depending on your kernel branch)

Identify your current Linux kernel version using 'uname -r'
Determine which major kernel series you are running (e.g., 5.15, 6.1, 6.4, or 6.5)
Upgrade to a patched kernel version: For 5.15.x, upgrade to 5.15.200 or later; For 6.1.x, upgrade to 6.1.42 or later; For 6.2.x through 6.4.x, upgrade to 6.4.7 or later; For 6.5.x, upgrade to 6.6 or later
Apply the upgrade using your distribution's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade for Debian/Ubuntu, yum update for RHEL/CentOS, or dnf update for Fedora)
Reboot the system to load the new kernel
Verify the fix is applied by checking 'uname -r' shows the patched version

Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce changes that affect custom kernel modules or driver compatibility

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-53673 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2023-53673?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 5.15.200 / 6.1.42 or later

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~18 hrs

ComplexityComplex

Typical engagementfrom $3,200

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2023-53673 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References