dbcve.org
BtstackApplication · Bluekitchen Gmbh

CVE-2026-28526

MEDIUM · 5.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.8.1 or later.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
BlueKitchen BTstack versions prior to 1.8.1 contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the AVRCP Controller LIST_PLAYER_APPLICATION_SETTING_ATTRIBUTES and LIST_PLAYER_APPLICATION_SETTING_VALUES handlers that allows attackers to read beyond buffer boundaries. A nearby attacker with a paired Bluetooth Classic connection can send a specially crafted VENDOR_DEPENDENT response with an attacker-controlled count value to trigger an out-of-bounds read from the L2CAP receive buffer, potentially causing a crash on resource-constrained devices.

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

BlueKitchen BTstack before 1.8.1 has an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the AVRCP Controller's LIST_PLAYER_APPLICATION_SETTING_ATTRIBUTES and LIST_PLAYER_APPLICATION_SETTING_VALUES handlers. A paired Bluetooth Classic attacker can send a specially crafted VENDOR_DEPENDENT response containing an attacker-controlled count value that causes the code to read beyond the L2CAP receive buffer boundaries, potentially crashing resource-constrained devices.

MitigationUpgrade to BTstack version 1.8.1 or later which contains the bounds-checking fix. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, disable AVRCP controller functionality or implement input validation on the count value field in VENDOR_DEPENDENT response handlers.

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
BtstackApplication
Affected:< 1.8.1

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 BTstack version
    Locate the BTstack library or firmware version information in your product's documentation, build files, or embedded system. Check the BTstack header files or library binary for the version string, typically found in btstack_version.h or similar version metadata.
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 1.8.1
  2. Confirm AVRCP Controller role is enabled
    Examine your BTstack configuration to determine if the AVRCP Controller profile is compiled in and actively used. This is typically configured via BTSTACK_CONFIG_FILE or compile-time flags such as HAVE_AVRCP_CONTROLLER.
    Affected if AVRCP Controller functionality is enabled in the build or runtime configuration
  3. Verify device accepts Bluetooth Classic pairings
    Check whether your device permits incoming Bluetooth Classic pairing requests or connects to untrusted devices. Review pairing policies, security settings, and the device's BLE/Bluetooth Classic pairing whitelist or authentication requirements.
    Affected if The device allows pairing with untrusted or unauthenticated Bluetooth Classic devices
  4. Inspect L2CAP buffer handling for AVRCP
    If you have access to source code, search for handlers LIST_PLAYER_APPLICATION_SETTING_ATTRIBUTES and LIST_PLAYER_APPLICATION_SETTING_VALUES in the AVRCP Controller implementation. Look for code that processes the 'count' value from VENDOR_DEPENDENT responses against L2CAP buffer boundaries without proper bounds validation.
    Affected if The code lacks bounds checking on the count value before reading from the L2CAP receive buffer

You are affected if BTstack version is below 1.8.1, AVRCP Controller is enabled, and the device can accept pairings from an attacker who can send malicious VENDOR_DEPENDENT responses.

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 1.8.1 or later
Fixed in 1.8.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to BTstack version 1.8.1 or later which contains the bounds-checking fix. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, disable AVRCP controller functionality or implement input validation on the count value field in VENDOR_DEPENDENT response handlers.

Recommended fix High confidence

Btstack 1.8.1

  1. Identify the current Btstack version in use by checking project dependencies or firmware configuration
  2. Download Btstack version 1.8.1 or later from the official GitHub repository (github.com/bluekitchen/btstack)
  3. Replace the existing btstack library files with the new version 1.8.1 files in the project
  4. Rebuild and recompile the firmware or application using the updated Btstack library
  5. Re-flash or redeploy the updated firmware/application to the device
  6. Verify the update was successful and test Bluetooth functionality

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

Fix this in Btstack Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2026-28526 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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