# CVE-2026-72334: Bluetooth: ISO: fix malformed ISO_END/CONT handling

> A malformed Bluetooth ISO packet sequence can cause a kernel panic or memory leak, allowing local attackers to crash the system or potentially read memory.

- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72334, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72334, GHSA-xw94-8v7c-8xwr, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72334

## What is CVE-2026-72334?

CVE-2026-72334 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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: ISO: fix malformed ISO_END/CONT handling

Core specification (Part C vol 4 sec 5.4.5) does not exclude empty
ISO_CONT, ISO_END packets.  We currently reject them if they are last.

If controller sends malformed sequence

    ISO_START -> rx_len = 4, ISO_CONT skb->len 4, ISO_START

that ends payload in ISO_CONT, we leak conn->rx_skb. If controller sends
too long ISO_END, we panic on skb_put. If controller sends too short
ISO_END we accept it.

Fix by marking unfinished ISO_START via conn->rx_skb != NULL.  Check
skb->len properly before skb_put.  Combine the ISO_CONT/END code paths
as they require the same initial checks. Reject too short ISO_END
packets.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72334?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72334?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72334 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72334 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72334 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72334 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-72334 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-2026-72334/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72334/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72334
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72334
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72334

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72334/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.