---
id: "CVE-2026-98632"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98632"]
title: "Linux kernel: Bluetooth mesh cancel frees a transmission still queued"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["bluetooth", "linux-kernel", "runtime", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["default-config"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:16+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:21:04+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98632", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: Bluetooth mesh cancel frees a transmission still queued

A use-after-free in the Linux kernel Bluetooth management code happens when a pending mesh transmission is cancelled while a queued entry still points at it. The sources do not state what an attacker gets beyond a memory-corruption condition.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream commit resolving this Bluetooth mgmt mesh_send_sync fix.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98632

## From the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

Bluetooth: mgmt: Dequeue pending mesh_send_sync entries on cancel

In send_cancel(), pending mesh_tx objects are removed from the
hdev->mesh_pending list and freed via mesh_send_complete().  However, if
a mesh transmission was already queued onto hdev->cmd_sync_work_list via
mesh_next(), the queued entry retains a raw pointer to mesh_tx.

When hci_cmd_sync_work later processes the entry, it attempts to execute
mesh_send_sync and its destroy callback mesh_send_start_complete using
the already freed mesh_tx pointer, leading to a use-after-free.

Fix this by invoking hci_cmd_sync_dequeue() for mesh_send_sync on the
target mesh_tx before completing it.  If the entry is found and dequeued,
its destroy callback will complete and free the object; otherwise,
mesh_send_complete() is called directly.

Additionally, ensure the transmission queue advances after cancellation
or errors.  In mesh_send_start_complete(), call mesh_next() on error
unless err is -ECANCELED, because hci_cmd_sync_dequeue() holds
hdev->cmd_sync_work_lock and calling mesh_next() synchronously would
deadlock.  Instead, advance the queue in send_cancel() once the lock is
released and if no transmission is in progress.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_