---
id: "CVE-2026-98633"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98633"]
title: "Linux kernel Bluetooth btnxpuart: skb leak on firmware dump"
severity: "low"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["bluetooth", "embedded", "infrastructure", "linux-kernel"]
not_affected_if: ["btnxpuart-not-loaded", "coredump-enabled"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:16+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:21:02+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98633", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel Bluetooth btnxpuart: skb leak on firmware dump

In the Linux kernel's btnxpuart Bluetooth driver, a kernel built without CONFIG_DEV_COREDUMP leaks a cloned socket buffer when a firmware dump is processed, and recovery is skipped. The sources describe a memory leak and a missed recovery step, not code execution or data exposure.

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

## How to check

- Check whether the kernel was built with `CONFIG_DEV_COREDUMP` disabled, for example with `grep CONFIG_DEV_COREDUMP /boot/config-$(uname -r)`
- Check whether the NXP btnxpuart Bluetooth driver is loaded with `lsmod | grep btnxpuart`

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream fix for btnxpuart (the sources do not name a version: unknown)

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98633

## From the sources

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

Bluetooth: btnxpuart: Fix skb leak in nxp_process_fw_dump()

When CONFIG_DEV_COREDUMP=n, hci_devcd_append() returns -EOPNOTSUPP
without freeing its skb argument. This leaks the cloned skb and also
prevents nxp_set_ind_reset() from being called to perform recovery.

Fix by guarding the hci_devcd_append(hdev, skb_clone(skb, GFP_ATOMIC))
call with IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_DEV_COREDUMP).

---

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