# CVE-2026-16473: BlueZ sbc heap out-of-bounds read in SBC frame decoder

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-16473-bluez-sbc-heap-out-of-bounds-read-in-sbc-frame-decoder  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-07-22. Updated: 2026-07-22  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-16473 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.3 · Published 2026-07-22

A security flaw exists in the SBC audio codec library, which is used by many Linux-based systems to handle Bluetooth audio. An attacker within Bluetooth range could send a specially crafted audio stream to read a small amount of private memory from the device's system. While the amount of data exposed is limited to a single byte per attempt, it represents a privacy risk for devices using Bluetooth audio services like PulseAudio or PipeWire.

Technologies: [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-10), [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-7), [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-8), [Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/enterprise-linux-9). Vendors: [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-16473 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16473 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-16473?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.3, published 22 July 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** BlueZ Project Sbc 1.0 through 2.0 (upstream HEAD 2.2).

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16473?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-16473 attacked?** It is attacked from the adjacent network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-16473?** Check whether you run BlueZ Project Sbc, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

An off-by-one error exists in the sbc_unpack_frame_internal() function within sbc/sbc.c of the sbc library. The vulnerability is caused by an incorrect bounds check where the code uses a 'greater than' operator instead of 'greater than or equal to' when validating the bit-reader position against the buffer length. This allows the 'consumed' bit counter to reach the exact end of the buffer, leading to a one-byte out-of-bounds read when the next byte is accessed. The flaw is reachable via the public sbc_decode() API, affecting common Linux audio frameworks like PulseAudio, PipeWire, and GStreamer when processing Bluetooth A2DP streams.

## Affected products

- BlueZ sbc 1.0 through 2.0 (upstream HEAD 2.2)
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

## Timeline

- 2026-07-21: disclosed: Reported via Red Hat Bugzilla
- 2026-07-22: advisory: NVD publication date

## References

- [https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/](https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16473](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16473)
- [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2503650](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2503650)
- [https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/bluetooth/sbc.git](https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/bluetooth/sbc.git)

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