Linux Kernel: Use-After-Free (CVE-2026-99011)
Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org, BSI
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: SCO: serialise sco_conn lifetime against sco_recv_scodata() sco_recv_scodata() upgrades the weak hcon->sco_data back-pointer to a strong reference under hdev->lock: hci_dev_lock(hdev); hcon = hci_conn_hash_lookup_handle(hdev, handle); ... conn = sco_conn_hold_unless_zero(hcon->sco_data); hci_dev_unlock(hdev); but the pointer is cleared from the other side without that lock. When the last sco_conn reference is dropped, sco_conn_free() ran conn->hcon->sco_data = NULL; with no hdev->lock held, so the RX path could read hcon->sco_data and call kref_get_unless_zero() on an sco_conn that was concurrently freed: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sco_conn_hold_unless_zero+0xbe/0x160 Write of size 4 by task kworker/u17:0 Workqueue: hci0 hci_rx_work Call Trace: sco_conn_hold_unless_zero+0xbe/0x160 sco_recv_scodata+0x13f/0x490 hci_rx_work+0x3af/0x730 kref_get_unless_zero() only guards against a zero refcount, not against the backing memory already being freed.
Update Linux Kernel to version 6.18.57, Linux Kernel to version 7.2.11, Linux Kernel to version 7.3.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.18.57 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.19..7.2.11
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
6.18.57 - Linux Kernel
7.2.11 - Linux Kernel
7.3
- Linux Kernel
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Metrics
7.1
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
7.1
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: CVE.org, BSI
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 13.3
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 66.91 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 7.1 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.1
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 13.3
- Elevated — this CVE ranks above at least 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: SCO: serialise sco_conn lifetime against sco_recv_scodata() sco_recv_scodata() upgrades the weak hcon->sco_data back-pointer to a strong reference under hdev->lock: hci_dev_lock(hdev); hcon = hci_conn_hash_lookup_handle(hdev, handle); ... conn = sco_conn_hold_unless_zero(hcon->sco_data); hci_dev_unlock(hdev); but the pointer is cleared from the other side without that lock. When the last sco_conn reference is dropped, sco_conn_free() ran conn->hcon->sco_data = NULL; with no hdev->lock held, so the RX path could read hcon->sco_data and call kref_get_unless_zero() on an sco_conn that was concurrently freed: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sco_conn_hold_unless_zero+0xbe/0x160 Write of size 4 by task kworker/u17:0 Workqueue: hci0 hci_rx_work Call Trace: sco_conn_hold_unless_zero+0xbe/0x160 sco_recv_scodata+0x13f/0x490 hci_rx_work+0x3af/0x730 kref_get_unless_zero() only guards against a zero refcount, not against the backing memory already being freed. Give hcon->sco_data an actual reference on the sco_conn it points to, so the object cannot be freed while the pointer is still installed, and only clear and drop it from sco_conn_del(), which runs under hdev->lock (its callers, sco_connect_cfm() and sco_disconn_cfm(), hold it). The reader in sco_recv_scodata() also takes hdev->lock, so the store and the read are now serialised: the RX path either observes NULL or a reference that is guaranteed to stay valid until it drops its own. sco_conn_add() no longer hands its kref_init() reference to the caller as the connection's only reference; that initial reference is the one owned by hcon->sco_data, and callers get their own via sco_conn_hold(). Because the sco_conn can now outlive the socket (the association keeps it alive until the link goes down), the hci_conn can no longer be dropped from sco_conn_free() without regressing socket close: closing a connected SCO socket must still tear the link down. Move hci_conn ownership to the socket instead: __sco_chan_add() takes an hci_conn reference and it is released from sco_chan_del() and sco_sock_destruct(), exactly once. The sco_conn no longer owns an hci_conn reference, so sco_conn_add() stops consuming one and sco_connect() drops the hci_connect_sco() reference on every path; sco_connect_cfm() no longer needs its hci_conn_hold() dance.
Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
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Vendors and products
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/816fb1590a4c8cf8d05cd076057616be02e276f0
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/8a98d58f6cfe70d51138cd9ce894e72671d95f8a
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/b108ea7ebba147465f4158d8133f0e8f013762ed
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedLinux
CVSS V3.1: AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After CVSS added —AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
ReceivedLinux
Description added or changed
Show 5 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: SCO: serialise sco_conn lifetime against sco_recv_scodata() sco_recv_scodata() upgrades the weak hcon->sco_data back-pointer to a strong reference under hdev->lock: hci_dev_lock(hdev); hcon = hci_conn_hash_lookup_handle(hdev, handle); ... conn = sco_conn_hold_unless_zero(hcon->sco_data); hci_dev_unlock(hdev); but the pointer is cleared from the other side without that lock. When the last sco_conn reference is dropped, sco_conn_free() ran conn->hcon->sco_data = NULL; with no hdev->lock held, so the RX path could read hcon->sco_data and call kref_get_unless_zero() on an sco_conn that was concurrently freed: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sco_conn_hold_unless_zero+0xbe/0x160 Write of size 4 by task kworker/u17:0 Workqueue: hci0 hci_rx_work Call Trace: sco_conn_hold_unless_zero+0xbe/0x160 sco_recv_scodata+0x13f/0x490 hci_rx_work+0x3af/0x730 kref_get_unless_zero() only guards against a zero refcount, not against the backing memory already being freed. Give hcon->sco_data an actual reference on the sco_conn it points to, so the object cannot be freed while the pointer is still installed, and only clear and drop it from sco_conn_del(), which runs under hdev->lock (its callers, sco_connect_cfm() and sco_disconn_cfm(), hold it). The reader in sco_recv_scodata() also takes hdev->lock, so the store and the read are now serialised: the RX path either observes NULL or a reference that is guaranteed to stay valid until it drops its own. sco_conn_add() no longer hands its kref_init() reference to the caller as the connection's only reference; that initial reference is the one owned by hcon->sco_data, and callers get their own via sco_conn_hold(). Because the sco_conn can now outlive the socket (the association keeps it alive until the link goes down), the hci_conn can no longer be dropped from sco_conn_free() without regressing socket close: closing a connected SCO socket must still tear the link down. Move hci_conn ownership to the socket instead: __sco_chan_add() takes an hci_conn reference and it is released from sco_chan_del() and sco_sock_destruct(), exactly once. The sco_conn no longer owns an hci_conn reference, so sco_conn_add() stops consuming one and sco_connect() drops the hci_connect_sco() reference on every path; sco_connect_cfm() no longer needs its hci_conn_hold() dance.Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99011.json">CVE-2026-99011</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/816fb1590a4c8cf8d05cd076057616be02e276f0Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a98d58f6cfe70d51138cd9ce894e72671d95f8aReference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b108ea7ebba147465f4158d8133f0e8f013762edSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-99011"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-99011.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-99011 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>