Bug 2554855 (CVE-2026-98462)

Summary: CVE-2026-98462 kernel: Bluetooth: hci_conn: fix CIS hold ownership on reuse
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Bluetooth subsystem. Improper reference count management during the reuse and binding of Connected Isochronous Stream (CIS) connections can result in an unbalanced connection hold count. A local attacker could exploit this flaw by triggering specific connection setup and error paths, potentially leading to memory corruption or a denial of service (system crash).
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-10-18 15:23:21 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

Bluetooth: hci_conn: fix CIS hold ownership on reuse

Commit 69997d50ec57 ("Bluetooth: ISO: handle bound CIS cleanup via
hci_conn") made hci_bind_cis() and hci_connect_cis() return a
connection with one hold for the ISO layer.  hci_bind_cis() currently
takes that hold only after configuring a CIS, so its BT_CONNECTED and
matching BT_BOUND paths return a bare lookup result.  Its configuration
failure path can likewise call hci_conn_drop() before taking a hold.

Take the hold before any state-dependent return or configuration error
so every successful return follows the documented ownership contract
and every error drop is balanced.

hci_connect_cis() also assumes hci_conn_link() always takes a new CIS
hold before dropping the one returned by hci_bind_cis().  However, the
helper returns an existing link without taking another hold.  In that
case, preserve the CIS hold for the caller and drop the redundant LE
hold because the existing link already owns its parent hold.  Returning
early also avoids changing an existing CIS back to BT_CONNECT.