Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-53357
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: fix UAF in l2cap_sock_cleanup_listen() vs l2cap_conn_del() bt_accept_dequeue() unlinks a not-yet-accepted child from the parent accept queue and release_sock()s it before returning, so the returned sk has no caller reference and is unlocked. l2cap_sock_cleanup_listen() walks these children on listening-socket close. A concurrent HCI disconnect drives hci_rx_work -> l2cap_conn_del() which runs l2cap_chan_del() + l2cap_sock_kill() and frees the child sk and its l2cap_chan; cleanup_listen() then uses both: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in l2cap_sock_kill l2cap_sock_kill / l2cap_sock_cleanup_listen / __x64_sys_close Freed by: l2cap_conn_del -> l2cap_sock_close_cb -> l2cap_sock_kill This is distinct from the two fixes already in this area: commit e83f5e24da741 ("Bluetooth: serialize accept_q access") serialises the accept_q list/poll and takes temporary refs inside bt_accept_dequeue(), and CVE-2025-39860 serialises the userspace close()/accept() race by calling cleanup_listen() under lock_sock() in l2cap_sock_release(). Neither covers l2cap_conn_del() running from hci_rx_work, so this UAF still reproduces on current bluetooth/master. Take the reference at the source: bt_accept_dequeue() does sock_hold() while sk is still locked, before release_sock(); callers sock_put(). cleanup_listen() pins the chan with l2cap_chan_hold_unless_zero() under a brief child sk lock (serialising vs l2cap_sock_teardown_cb()), drops it before l2cap_chan_lock(), and skips a duplicate l2cap_sock_kill() on SOCK_DEAD. conn->lock is not taken here: cleanup_listen() runs under the parent sk lock and that would invert conn->lock -> chan->lock -> sk_lock (lockdep). KASAN/SMP: an unprivileged listen/close vs HCI-disconnect race produced 12 use-after-free reports per run before this change; 0, and no lockdep report, over 1600+ raced iterations after it on bluetooth/master.
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 confidenceA use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's Bluetooth L2CAP subsystem where l2cap_sock_cleanup_listen() accesses a child socket's structure after l2cap_conn_del() has already freed it via l2cap_sock_kill(). The race occurs because bt_accept_dequeue() releases its reference before returning, while cleanup_listen() iterates over these sockets during close, and a concurrent HCI disconnect can free the child socket from another execution context.
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
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 5.7, < 5.10.259>= 5.11, < 5.15.210>= 5.16, < 6.1.175>= 6.2, < 6.6.142>= 6.7, < 6.12.92>= 6.13, < 6.18.34>= 6.19, < 7.0.11= 7.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Linux kernel is in useRun `uname -r` to display the kernel versionAffected if System is not running a Linux kernel (this CVE is kernel-specific)
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Check if Bluetooth subsystem is loadedRun `lsmod | grep bluetooth` or check /sys/module/bluetooth/ existsAffected if Bluetooth module is not loaded - the vulnerability cannot be triggered without the Bluetooth stack
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Verify L2CAP protocol supportRun `lsmod | grep l2cap` or check /proc/bluetooth/l2cap existsAffected if L2CAP module is not loaded - the vulnerability is in the L2CAP layer
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Compare installed kernel version to fixed versionCompare your kernel version from `uname -r` against the version that includes the upstream fix for this CVE (reference vendor security advisories for the specific version number)Affected if Kernel version is older than the patched version containing the fix
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Check for active L2CAP listening socketsRun `btmon --raw` or use `hcidump -X` to monitor Bluetooth connections, then attempt to create an L2CAP listening socket with `bluetoothctl` or a custom tool to see if it can be createdAffected if L2CAP listening sockets can be created - indicates the vulnerable code path is present
A system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel older than the patched version, has the Bluetooth and L2CAP modules loaded, and uses L2CAP Bluetooth connections.
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 data5.10.2595.15.2106.1.175
Apply the kernel patch that adds proper reference counting in bt_accept_dequeue() with sock_hold() before release_sock() and uses l2cap_chan_hold_unless_zero() in cleanup_listen() to safely pin channels. Backport to affected kernel versions.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53357 — 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-2026-53357 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
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