VulnerabilityPublished 17 Sep 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-90087: Linux kernel · Bluetooth: do not leak an hci_conn when a second LE connect is rejected

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in a78d16530c1538a215a827c7c3a4b408d6759bc0 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

Severity

Unrated

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in a78d16530c1538a215a827c7c3a4b408d6759bc0, 78970b39529844b31df2949015f66752e17210fe, 8a8585e421d06f878b33ef79f82cace0d485e3d8 +4

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=5.17.14 <5.18 >=5.18.3 <5.19	Fixed in a78d16530c1538a215a827c7c3a4b408d6759bc0 78970b39529844b31df2949015f66752e17210fe 8a8585e421d06f878b33ef79f82cace0d485e3d8 7e1e4047200fd7519f9bdfe8a001437715e618b4 5.19 5.18 2eafcf310f4e0ad4f387881db01116bbe3cc0b39
LinuxLinux	Affected =5.19	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: do not leak an hci_conn when a second LE connect is rejected create_le_conn_complete() decides whether the failed connection is still pending by comparing it against hci_lookup_le_connect(), which returns the first LE connection in BT_CONNECT. That is the same connection only while at most one is pending. Two can be pending. Connections created on the passive scan path sit in BT_CONNECT with HCI_CONN_SCANNING set and are invisible to hci_lookup_le_connect() until hci_le_create_conn_sync() clears the flag when their command is issued, so the -EBUSY guard in hci_connect_le() does not prevent a second connection from being queued while the first is still on the scan path. Whenever two connections are in BT_CONNECT at once, the lookup may return one connection while create_le_conn_complete() is reporting the failure of the other; the early exit then drops the error and hci_conn_failed() never runs on the connection that failed. The controller also rejects a second HCI_OP_LE_CREATE_CONN issued while another connection creation is still outstanding, per Core Spec Vol 4, Part E. The spec calls for Command Disallowed there; the bcm43438 observed here answers with an LMP/LL error code instead, which bt_to_errno() maps to the -EPROTO (-71) in the log below. The leaked connection stays in BT_CONNECT forever, and because hci_connect_le() refuses to dial while hci_lookup_le_connect() finds anything, every subsequent attempt to reach any peer fails with -EBUSY and no command reaches the controller at all. Seen on a bcm43438 with two BLE peers polled on the same interval (state 5 is BT_CONNECT; both handles are UNSET ones, allocated from the ida above HCI_CONN_HANDLE_MAX): Bluetooth: hci1: Opcode 0x2013 failed: -71 # hcitool con < LE 14:9C:EF:03:68:81 handle 3840 state 5 lm CENTRAL < LE C4:D3:6A:8C:B5:38 handle 3841 state 5 lm CENTRAL A btmon capture across the next ten minutes of connect attempts contains no HCI_OP_LE_CREATE_CONN at all; outgoing LE connections do not recover until the adapter is reset. With this change the same scenario fails the rejected connection cleanly and further connects to both peers go through. Ask about the connection itself instead of about the device.

References

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