CVE-2026-43069 Bluetooth: hci_ll: Fix firmware leak on error path
A resource leak in the Linux kernel Bluetooth driver allows attackers to cause denial of service by triggering an error path that fails to release firmware memory.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-43069?
CVE-2026-43069 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 5 May 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: hci_ll: Fix firmware leak on error path
Smatch reports:
drivers/bluetooth/hci_ll.c:587 download_firmware() warn: 'fw' from request_firmware() not released on lines: 544.
In download_firmware(), if request_firmware() succeeds but the returned firmware content is invalid (no data or zero size), the function returns without releasing the firmware, resulting in a resource leak.
Fix this by calling release_firmware() before returning when request_firmware() succeeded but the firmware content is invalid.
Weakness: CWE-401
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43069?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-43069?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-43069 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43069 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-43069, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43069, GHSA-gmrr-4gfx-7vm5, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43069, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43069, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43069 and 1 more.