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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-71082

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.198 / 6.1.160 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click Patch available

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
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: btusb: revert use of devm_kzalloc in btusb This reverts commit 98921dbd00c4e ("Bluetooth: Use devm_kzalloc in btusb.c file"). In btusb_probe(), we use devm_kzalloc() to allocate the btusb data. This ties the lifetime of all the btusb data to the binding of a driver to one interface, INTF. In a driver that binds to other interfaces, ISOC and DIAG, this is an accident waiting to happen. The issue is revealed in btusb_disconnect(), where calling usb_driver_release_interface(&btusb_driver, data->intf) will have devm free the data that is also being used by the other interfaces of the driver that may not be released yet. To fix this, revert the use of devm and go back to freeing memory explicitly.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 3.7.1, < 5.15.198>= 5.16, < 6.1.160>= 6.2, < 6.6.120>= 6.7, < 6.12.64>= 6.13, < 6.18.4= 3.7= 6.19

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
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 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 5.15.198 / 6.1.160 / 6.6.120 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1986.1.1606.6.120
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to one of: Linux 5.15.198+, 6.1.160+, 6.6.120+, or 6.12.64+

  1. Obtain the kernel source code for your currently running kernel version
  2. Locate the btusb.c file in the kernel source (drivers/bluetooth/btusb.c)
  3. Apply the patch from commit 1e54c19eaf84ba652c4e376571093e58e144b339, which reverts commit 98921dbd00c4e
  4. The patch changes devm_kzalloc() back to kzalloc() in btusb_probe() and adds explicit kfree() in btusb_disconnect()
  5. Recompile the kernel with the applied fix
  6. Reboot the system using the patched kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce compatibility changes with hardware drivers or user-space applications; test thoroughly before production deployment

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 $1,950. Get the upgrade done

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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-2025-71082 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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