# CVE-2023-54038: Bluetooth: hci_conn: return ERR_PTR instead of NULL when there is no link

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel Bluetooth subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash via crafted Bluetooth connections.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54038, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54038, GHSA-j568-pqpx-g2wf, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54038

## What is CVE-2023-54038?

CVE-2023-54038 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

Bluetooth: hci_conn: return ERR_PTR instead of NULL when there is no link

hci_connect_sco currently returns NULL when there is no link (i.e. when
hci_conn_link() returns NULL).

sco_connect() expects an ERR_PTR in case of any error (see line 266 in
sco.c). Thus, hcon set as NULL passes through to sco_conn_add(), which
tries to get hcon->hdev, resulting in dereferencing a NULL pointer as
reported by syzkaller.

The same issue exists for iso_connect_cis() calling hci_connect_cis().

Thus, make hci_connect_sco() and hci_connect_cis() return ERR_PTR
instead of NULL.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54038?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54038?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54038 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54038 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54038 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54038 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54038 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54038/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54038/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54038
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54038
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54038

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54038/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.