# CVE-2026-23461: Bluetooth: L2CAP: Fix use-after-free in l2cap_unregister_user

> A race condition in the Linux kernel Bluetooth L2CAP subsystem allows attackers to trigger a use-after-free, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 3 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23461, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23461, GHSA-ggw5-jw3c-r95v, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23461, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23461, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23461

## What is CVE-2026-23461?

CVE-2026-23461 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 2026. 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: L2CAP: Fix use-after-free in l2cap_unregister_user

After commit ab4eedb790ca ("Bluetooth: L2CAP: Fix corrupted list in
hci_chan_del"), l2cap_conn_del() uses conn->lock to protect access to
conn->users. However, l2cap_register_user() and l2cap_unregister_user()
don't use conn->lock, creating a race condition where these functions can
access conn->users and conn->hchan concurrently with l2cap_conn_del().

This can lead to use-after-free and list corruption bugs, as reported
by syzbot.

Fix this by changing l2cap_register_user() and l2cap_unregister_user()
to use conn->lock instead of hci_dev_lock(), ensuring consistent locking
for the l2cap_conn structure.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free), CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23461?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23461?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23461 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23461 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23461 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23461 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 2026. 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-2026-23461 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2026-23461/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23461/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23461
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23461
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23461

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23461/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.