# CVE-2026-23462: Bluetooth: HIDP: Fix possible UAF

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel Bluetooth HIDP module allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges.

- **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-2026-23462, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23462, GHSA-2m32-7xgm-rmj6, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23462, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23462, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23462, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23462, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23462, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23462

## What is CVE-2026-23462?

CVE-2026-23462 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: HIDP: Fix possible UAF

This fixes the following trace caused by not dropping l2cap_conn
reference when user->remove callback is called:

[   97.809249] l2cap_conn_free: freeing conn ffff88810a171c00
[   97.809907] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1419 Comm: repro_standalon Not tainted 7.0.0-rc1-dirty #14 PREEMPT(lazy)
[   97.809935] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.17.0-debian-1.17.0-1 04/01/2014
[   97.809947] Call Trace:
[   97.809954]  <TASK>
[   97.809961]  dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:122)
[   97.809990]  l2cap_conn_free (net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:1808)
[   97.810017]  l2cap_conn_del (./include/linux/kref.h:66 net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:1821 net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:1798)
[   97.810055]  l2cap_disconn_cfm (net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:7347 (discriminator 1) net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:7340 (discriminator 1))
[   97.810086]  ? __pfx_l2cap_disconn_cfm (net/bluetooth/l2cap_core.c:7341)
[   97.810117]  hci_conn_hash_flush (./include/net/bluetooth/hci_core.h:2152 (discriminator 2) net/bluetooth/hci_conn.c:2644 (discriminator 2))
[   97.810148]  hci_dev_close_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:5360)
[   97.810180]  ? __pfx_hci_dev_close_sync (net/bluetooth/hci_sync.c:5285)
[   97.810212]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810242]  ? up_write (./arch/x86/include/asm/atomic64_64.h:87 (discriminator 5) ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-arch-fallback.h:2852 (discriminator 5) ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-long.h:268 (discriminator 5) ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:3391 (discriminator 5) kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1385 (discriminator 5) kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1643 (discriminator 5))
[   97.810267]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810290]  ? rcu_is_watching (./arch/x86/include/asm/atomic.h:23 ./include/linux/atomic/atomic-arch-fallback.h:457 ./include/linux/context_tracking.h:128 kernel/rcu/tree.c:752)
[   97.810320]  hci_unregister_dev (net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:504 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:2716)
[   97.810346]  vhci_release (drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:691)
[   97.810375]  ? __pfx_vhci_release (drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:678)
[   97.810404]  __fput (fs/file_table.c:470)
[   97.810430]  task_work_run (kernel/task_work.c:235)
[   97.810451]  ? __pfx_task_work_run (kernel/task_work.c:201)
[   97.810472]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810495]  ? do_raw_spin_unlock (./include/asm-generic/qspinlock.h:128 (discriminator 5) kernel/locking/spinlock_debug.c:142 (discriminator 5))
[   97.810527]  do_exit (kernel/exit.c:972)
[   97.810547]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810574]  ? __pfx_do_exit (kernel/exit.c:897)
[   97.810594]  ? lock_acquire (kernel/locking/lockdep.c:470 (discriminator 6) kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5870 (discriminator 6) kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5825 (discriminator 6))
[   97.810616]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810639]  ? do_raw_spin_lock (kernel/locking/spinlock_debug.c:95 (discriminator 4) kernel/locking/spinlock_debug.c:118 (discriminator 4))
[   97.810664]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810688]  ? find_held_lock (kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5350 (discriminator 1))
[   97.810721]  do_group_exit (kernel/exit.c:1093)
[   97.810745]  get_signal (kernel/signal.c:3007 (discriminator 1))
[   97.810772]  ? security_file_permission (./arch/x86/include/asm/jump_label.h:37 security/security.c:2366)
[   97.810803]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810826]  ? vfs_read (fs/read_write.c:555)
[   97.810854]  ? __pfx_get_signal (kernel/signal.c:2800)
[   97.810880]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810905]  ? __pfx_vfs_read (fs/read_write.c:555)
[   97.810932]  ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221)
[   97.810960]  arch_do_signal_or_restart (arch/
---truncated---

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23462?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23462?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23462 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23462 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-2026-23462 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23462 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-2026-23462 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-2026-23462/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23462/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23462
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23462
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23462

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23462/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
