VulnerabilityPublished 23 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-99010: Linux kernel · Bluetooth: RFCOMM: free the skb when the DLC has no owner

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in c3f76b025cbbb0ab47310dbe7de18092d89f2a99 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:30 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in c3f76b025cbbb0ab47310dbe7de18092d89f2a99, b8814161b14c610b7a09527433301d8ad8180aef, a54ce160e3ef7e50ec94e0ac4131c3d0f9f739b9 +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Oct 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 ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < c3f76b025cbbb0ab47310dbe7de18092d89f2a99	Fixed in c3f76b025cbbb0ab47310dbe7de18092d89f2a99
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < b8814161b14c610b7a09527433301d8ad8180aef	Fixed in b8814161b14c610b7a09527433301d8ad8180aef
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < a54ce160e3ef7e50ec94e0ac4131c3d0f9f739b9	Fixed in a54ce160e3ef7e50ec94e0ac4131c3d0f9f739b9
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 9d1afbf60ed53c5b051cd124153e0ae3078c8b93	Fixed in 9d1afbf60ed53c5b051cd124153e0ae3078c8b93
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 4f46de658ce61968aef5ea7ae809d1c180330544	Fixed in 4f46de658ce61968aef5ea7ae809d1c180330544
LinuxLinux	Affected =2.6.12	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available in the Linux kernel as indicated by the presence of fixed commit versions. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes the commits c3f76b025cbbb0ab47310dbe7de18092d89f2a99, b8814161b14c610b7a09527433301d8ad8180aef, a54ce160e3ef7e50ec94e0ac4131c3d0f9f739b9, 9d1afbf60ed53c5b051cd124153e0ae3078c8b93, or 4f46de658ce61968aef5ea7ae809d1c180330544. Applying these updates will remediate the memory leak issue. No other mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A memory leak vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's Bluetooth RFCOMM implementation where socket buffers (skb) are not freed when a data link connection (DLC) has no owner. This occurs because the socket implementation fails to free the skb after passing it to a callback, unlike the tty implementation which properly frees it. The leak persists while the DLC remains connected but ownerless, causing continuous resource consumption.

Impact

The vulnerability causes a memory leak in the Linux kernel Bluetooth RFCOMM socket implementation. This leak can lead to increased memory consumption on affected systems, potentially degrading system performance or stability over time if exploited or triggered repeatedly. There is no indication of remote code execution or privilege escalation from the provided data.

Summary

The Linux kernel Bluetooth RFCOMM code in rfcomm_recv_data() passes the skb to d->data_ready() without freeing it, transferring ownership to the callback. The tty implementation frees the skb if the DLC has no owner, but the socket implementation does not, resulting in a memory leak. This leak occurs when a connected DLC has no owner, as rfcomm_sock_destruct() clears the owner while the DLC remains on the session. Incoming data frames during this window cause skb leaks that accumulate because the remote side continues sending data due to credits being granted continuously. The issue is fixed by ensuring the skb is freed when the DLC has no owner, matching the tty side behavior.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 09:57 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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