CVE-2023-53252

EPSS 0.0%
  • Published: 2025-09-15T15:15:52.503

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

Bluetooth: use RCU for hci_conn_params and iterate safely in hci_sync

hci_update_accept_list_sync iterates over hdev->pend_le_conns and
hdev->pend_le_reports, and waits for controller events in the loop body,
without holding hdev lock.

Meanwhile, these lists and the items may be modified e.g. by
le_scan_cleanup. This can invalidate the list cursor or any other item
in the list, resulting to invalid behavior (eg use-after-free).

Use RCU for the hci_conn_params action lists. Since the loop bodies in
hci_sync block and we cannot use RCU or hdev->lock for the whole loop,
copy list items first and then iterate on the copy. Only the flags field
is written from elsewhere, so READ_ONCE/WRITE_ONCE should guarantee we
read valid values.

Free params everywhere with hci_conn_params_free so the cleanup is
guaranteed to be done properly.

This fixes the following, which can be triggered e.g. by BlueZ new
mgmt-tester case “Add + Remove Device Nowait – Success”, or by changing
hci_le_set_cig_params to always return false, and running iso-tester:

==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
Read of size 8 at addr ffff888001265018 by task kworker/u3:0/32

Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014
Workqueue: hci0 hci_cmd_sync_work
Call Trace:

dump_stack_lvl (./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:134 lib/dump_stack.c:107)
print_report (mm/kasan/report.c:320 mm/kasan/report.c:430)
? __virt_addr_valid (./include/linux/mmzone.h:1915 ./include/linux/mmzone.h:2011 arch/x86/mm/physaddr.c:65)
? hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:538)
? hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2536 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2723 net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2841)
? __pfx_hci_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2780)
? mutex_lock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:282)
? __pfx_mutex_lock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:282)
? __pfx_mutex_unlock (kernel/locking/mutex.c:538)
? __pfx_update_passive_scan_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:2861)
hci_cmd_sync_work (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:306)
process_one_work (./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.h:27 kernel/workqueue.c:2399)
worker_thread (./include/linux/list.h:292 kernel/workqueue.c:2538)
? __pfx_worker_thread (kernel/workqueue.c:2480)
kthread (kernel/kthread.c:376)
? __pfx_kthread (kernel/kthread.c:331)
ret_from_fork (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:314)

Allocated by task 31:
kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:46)
kasan_set_track (mm/kasan/common.c:52)
__kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:374 mm/kasan/common.c:383)
hci_conn_params_add (./include/linux/slab.h:580 ./include/linux/slab.h:720 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2277)
hci_connect_le_scan (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:1419 net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:1589)
hci_connect_cis (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:2266)
iso_connect_cis (net/bluetooth/iso.c:390)
iso_sock_connect (net/bluetooth/iso.c:899)
__sys_connect (net/socket.c:2003 net/socket.c:2020)
__x64_sys_connect (net/socket.c:2027)
do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80)
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:120)

Freed by task 15:
kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:46)
kasan_set_track (mm/kasan/common.c:52)
kasan_save_free_info (mm/kasan/generic.c:523)
__kasan_slab_free (mm/kasan/common.c:238 mm/kasan/common.c:200 mm/kasan/common.c:244)
__kmem_cache_free (mm/slub.c:1807 mm/slub.c:3787 mm/slub.c:3800)
hci_conn_params_del (net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2323)
le_scan_cleanup (net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:202)
process_one_work (./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.
—truncated—

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How to fix CVE-2023-53252

CVE-2023-53252 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: use RCU for hci_conn_params and iterate safely in hci_sync hci_update_accept_list_sync iterates over hdev->pend_le_conns and hdev->pend_le_reports, and waits for controller events in the loop body, without holding hdev lock. Meanwhile, these lists and the items may be modified e.g. by le_scan_cleanup. This can invalidate the […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Sep 15, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.