CVE-2026-43069: Bluetooth: hci_ll: Fix firmware leak on error path

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-05-05 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-401

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_ll: Fix firmware leak on error path Smatch reports: drivers/bluetooth/hci_ll.c:587 download_firmware() warn: 'fw' from request_firmware() not released on lines: 544. In download_firmware(), if request_firmware() succeeds but the returned firmware content is invalid (no data or zero size), the function returns without releasing the firmware, resulting in a resource leak. Fix this by calling release_firmware() before returning when request_firmware() succeeded but the firmware content is invalid.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 4.12 before 5.10.253; from 5.11 before 5.15.203; from 5.16 before 6.1.168; from 6.2 before 6.6.131; from 6.7 before 6.12.80; from 6.13 before 6.18.21 — fixed in 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.12.80. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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