CVE-2026-98461: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_sock: validate event length before filtering is_filtered

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_sock: validate event length before filtering is_filtered_packet() reads the

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_sock: validate event length before filtering is_filtered_packet() reads the event code from skb->data[0] without first checking that the skb is nonempty. When an opcode filter is configured, it also reads the command opcode at offsets 3 or 4 without checking that a Command Complete or Command Status event is long enough. hci_send_to_sock() invokes the filter before hci_event_packet() validates the event header. A malformed event supplied by a controller or a vhci device can therefore cause an out-of-bounds read. Keep the unmasked event code for the opcode checks. The masked value is needed for the 64-bit event bitmap, but using it to identify command events aliases event codes above 0x3f. In particular, Synchronous Train Complete (0x4f) was treated as Command Status (0x0f) even though its payload has no opcode. Reject actual command events that are too short for the field being inspected. A truncated command event cannot match a configured opcode.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.22%, higher than 12% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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