# CVE-2026-74303: Bluetooth: hci_qca: fix NULL pointer dereference in qca_dmp_hdr() for non-serdev device

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel Bluetooth driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash.

- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74303, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74303, GHSA-c62v-fhpj-c23c, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74303

## What is CVE-2026-74303?

CVE-2026-74303 is a 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: hci_qca: fix NULL pointer dereference in qca_dmp_hdr() for non-serdev device

hu->serdev is NULL for hci_uart attached via non-serdev paths, but
qca_dmp_hdr() unconditionally dereferences hu->serdev->dev.driver->name,
causing a NULL pointer dereference.

Fix by guarding the dereference with a NULL check and falling back to
"hci_ldisc_qca" for the non-serdev case.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74303?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74303?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74303 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74303 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74303 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74303 is a 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-2026-74303 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-2026-74303/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74303/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74303
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74303
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74303

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74303/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.