CVE-2022-0204 – CVE-2022-0204 is a heap overflow vulnerability ... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-0204?

CVE-2022-0204 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). CVE-2022-0204 is a heap overflow vulnerability in BlueZ Bluetooth stack versions before 5.63. An attacker on the local network can send specially crafted files to cause denial of service through application crashes. Systems using BlueZ for Bluetooth functionality are affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2022-0204 is a heap overflow vulnerability in BlueZ Bluetooth stack versions before 5.63. An attacker on the local network can send specially crafted files to cause denial of service through application crashes. Systems using BlueZ for Bluetooth functionality are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

BlueZ Bluetooth stack

Versions: All versions prior to 5.63

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using BlueZ

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Systems with Bluetooth enabled and BlueZ installed are vulnerable. Many Linux distributions include BlueZ by default.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete denial of service of Bluetooth services, potentially disrupting device connectivity and functionality.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crashes leading to temporary Bluetooth service disruption until services restart.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and updated software.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local network access, not directly internet exploitable.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Attackers on local network can exploit, but requires specific conditions.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Exploitation requires local network access and ability to send specially crafted files to BlueZ services.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: BlueZ 5.63 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/bluez/bluez/security/advisories/GHSA-479m-xcq5-9g2q

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update BlueZ to version 5.63 or later using your distribution's package manager. 2. Restart Bluetooth services. 3. Verify the update was successful.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable Bluetooth if not needed

linux

Temporarily disable Bluetooth services to prevent exploitation

sudo systemctl stop bluetooth
sudo systemctl disable bluetooth

Network segmentation

all

Isolate Bluetooth devices on separate network segments

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict network access controls to limit who can access Bluetooth services
Monitor for unusual Bluetooth service crashes or restart patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check BlueZ version with: bluetoothd --version

Check Version:

bluetoothd --version || bluetoothctl --version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version is 5.63 or higher and test Bluetooth functionality

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unexpected Bluetooth service crashes in system logs
Multiple Bluetooth service restarts

Network Indicators:

Unusual Bluetooth file transfer attempts from unknown sources

SIEM Query:

source="systemd" "bluetooth" AND ("crash" OR "segfault" OR "restart")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-0204

CVSS v3 Score: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-119

Published: March 10, 2022

Last Updated: November 4, 2025

🔗 References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2039807 Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/bluez/bluez/commit/591c546c536b42bef696d027f64aa22434f8c3f0 Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/bluez/bluez/security/advisories/GHSA-479m-xcq5-9g2q Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/10/msg00026.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202209-16 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2039807 Issue Tracking,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/bluez/bluez/commit/591c546c536b42bef696d027f64aa22434f8c3f0 Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/bluez/bluez/security/advisories/GHSA-479m-xcq5-9g2q Exploit,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/10/msg00026.html Mailing List,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/09/msg00022.html
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202209-16 Third Party Advisory

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