# CVE-2026-93209: Bluetooth: hci_core: use skb_get() instead of skb_clone() for req_skb

> A memory allocation failure in the Linux kernel Bluetooth driver causes HCI command timeouts, leading to a denial of service for Bluetooth functionality.

- **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:** 24 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-93209, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-93209, GHSA-vfrj-34f5-pwh8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-93209

## What is CVE-2026-93209?

CVE-2026-93209 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Sep 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_core: use skb_get() instead of skb_clone() for req_skb

BT enable fails intermittently with -ETIMEDOUT (-110).  The kernel log
shows the HCI Read Local Version command was sent and the firmware
replied with status 0x00 (logged by hci_req_cmd_complete() BT_DBG),
but the waiter in __hci_cmd_sync_sk() never woke up and timed out
after 10 s:

  bluetooth hci0: Opcode 0xfc00              // __hci_cmd_sync_sk
  bluetooth hci0: opcode 0xfc00 plen 1       // hci_cmd_sync_add
  bluetooth hci0: skb len 4                  // hci_cmd_sync_alloc
  bluetooth hci0: length 1                   // hci_req_sync_run
  Bluetooth: hci0 cmd_cnt 1 cmd queued 1     // hci_cmd_work
  Bluetooth: hci0 type 1 len 4               // hci_send_frame
  Bluetooth: opcode 0xfc00 status 0x00       // hci_req_cmd_complete
  <-- req_skb NULL: req_complete_skb not set,
      hci_cmd_sync_complete() never called,
      req_status stays HCI_REQ_PEND            -->
  <-- 10 s later: wait_event_interruptible_timeout expires -->
  bluetooth hci0: end: err -110              // __hci_cmd_sync_sk

The root cause is that hci_send_cmd_sync() clones the sent command
into hdev->req_skb so that hci_req_cmd_complete() can locate the
registered completion callback.  Under memory pressure this
skb_clone() fails, leaving hdev->req_skb NULL.  The firmware reply
is received and processed, but hci_req_cmd_complete() finds NULL
req_skb, so hci_cmd_sync_complete() is never called, req_status
stays HCI_REQ_PEND, and the waiter times out with -ETIMEDOUT.

req_skb is only used to read bt_cb(skb)->hci callbacks and opcode --
it is never modified.  Replace skb_clone() with skb_get(), which
simply increments the reference count of hdev->sent_cmd without
allocating new memory and therefore cannot fail.

This issue was first observed as a use-after-free in ttyport_close()
when ttyport_open() failed, which was investigated in an earlier
patch series [1].  That investigation led to the discovery of the
true root cause described above.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20250430111617.1151390-1-quic_cxin@quicinc.com/

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-93209?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-93209?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-93209 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-93209 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-93209 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-93209 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Sep 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-2026-93209 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-2026-93209/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-93209/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-93209
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-93209
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-93209

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-93209/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.