net: phy: leds: 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: net: phy: leds: fix memory leak A network restart test on a router led to an out-of-memory condition, which was traced to a memory leak in the PHY LED trigger code. The root cause is misuse of the devm API. The registration function (phy_led_triggers_register) is called from phy_attach_direct, not phy_probe, and the unregister function (phy_led_triggers_unregister) is called from phy_detach, not phy_remove. This means the register and unregister functions can be called multiple times for the same PHY device, but devm-allocated memory is not freed until the driver is unbound. This also prevents kmemleak from detecting the leak, as the devm API internally stores the allocated pointer. Fix this by replacing devm_kzalloc/devm_kcalloc with standard kzalloc/kcalloc, and add the corresponding kfree calls in the unregister path.
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 | 4.10 and later | 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.14.5, 6.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.10 and later Fixed in 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.14.5, 6.15 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.10 to before 5.4.293; 5.5 to before 5.10.237; 5.11 to before 5.15.181; 5.16 to before 6.1.136; 6.2 to before 6.6.89; 6.7 to before 6.12.26; 6.13 to before 6.14.5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.10 to before 5.4.293; 5.5 to before 5.10.237; 5.11 to before 5.15.181; 5.16 to before 6.1.136; 6.2 to before 6.6.89; 6.7 to before 6.12.26; 6.13 to before 6.14.5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.14.5, 6.15
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-37989
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-ff73-mwmp-6jw5
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/966d6494e2ed9be9052fcd9815afba830896aaf8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95bed65cc0eb2a610550abf849a8b94374da80a7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/663c3da86e807c6c07ed48f911c7526fad6fe1ff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f41f097f68a33d392579885426d0734a81219501
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/618541a6cc1511064dfa58c89b3445e21844092f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41143e71052a00d654c15dc924fda50c1e7357d0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f3d5880800f962c347777c4f8358f29f5fc403c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7f0ee992adf601aa00c252418266177eb7ac2bc
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-2025-37989 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-37989 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-ff73-mwmp-6jw5 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-37989 · 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