phy: mdio: fix memory leak
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: phy: mdio: fix memory leak Syzbot reported memory leak in MDIO bus interface, the problem was in wrong state logic. MDIOBUS_ALLOCATED indicates 2 states: 1. Bus is only allocated 2. Bus allocated and __mdiobus_register() fails, but device_register() was called In case of device_register() has been called we should call put_device() to correctly free the memory allocated for this device, but mdiobus_free() calls just kfree(dev) in case of MDIOBUS_ALLOCATED state To avoid this behaviour we need to set bus->state to MDIOBUS_UNREGISTERED _before_ calling device_register(), because put_device() should be called even in case of device_register() failure.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.28 and later | 4.4.289, 4.9.287, 4.14.251, 4.19.211, 5.4.153, 5.10.73, 5.14.12, 5.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.28 and later Fixed in 4.4.289, 4.9.287, 4.14.251, 4.19.211, 5.4.153, 5.10.73, 5.14.12, 5.15 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.28 to before 4.4.289; 4.5 to before 4.9.287; 4.10 to before 4.14.251; 4.15 to before 4.19.211; 4.20 to before 5.4.153; 5.5 to before 5.10.73; 5.11 to before 5.14.12 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.28 to before 4.4.289; 4.5 to before 4.9.287; 4.10 to before 4.14.251; 4.15 to before 4.19.211; 4.20 to before 5.4.153; 5.5 to before 5.10.73; 5.11 to before 5.14.12 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.4.289, 4.9.287, 4.14.251, 4.19.211, 5.4.153, 5.10.73, 5.14.12, 5.15
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-47416
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-j8cp-h624-v86v
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25e9f88c7e3cc35f5e3d3db199660d28a15df639
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2250392d930bd0d989f24d355d6355b0150256e7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f4f502a04ee1e543825af78f47eb7785015cd9f6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2397b9e118721292429fea8807a698e71b94795f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/414bb4ead1362ef2c8592db723c017258f213988
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d2dd40a7be61b89a7c99dae8ee96389d27b413a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/064c2616234a7394867c924b5c1303974f3a4f4d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ca6e11c337daf7925ff8a2aac8e84490a8691905
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2021-47416 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-47416 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-j8cp-h624-v86v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-47416 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences