Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-74508

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: HIDP: reject frames without a transaction header hidp_recv_ctrl_frame() and hidp_recv_intr_frame() read skb->data[0] before checking that the L2CAP SDU contains a transaction header. A connected HIDP peer can send an empty basic-mode SDU and make both paths use an uninitialized byte from skb tailroom. KMSAN reports the use in hidp_session_run(), with the uninitialized value originating in __alloc_skb() through vhci_write(). The control path produces two reports and the interrupt path produces one. The byte can also be controlled by a malformed lower-layer packet. If an HCI ACL packet contains an L2CAP PDU with a declared zero-length payload followed by an extra 0x15 byte, l2cap_recv_acldata() reduces skb->len to the declared PDU length before dispatch. The current HIDP path nevertheless consumes the extra byte as HIDP_TRANS_HID_CONTROL | HIDP_CTRL_VIRTUAL_CABLE_UNPLUG and terminates the HIDP session. With this change, the same packet is discarded and a subsequent feature report request succeeds. Pull the transaction header with skb_pull_data() and discard frames that do not contain it.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (32.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 33rd percentile — 32.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-74508: held from 0.003 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.002

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, 7.2-rc6, 7.2

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-74508?
CVE-2026-74508 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2026-08-15.
How severe is CVE-2026-74508?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.