r6040: Fix kmemleak in probe and remove
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
r6040: Fix kmemleak in probe and remove
There is a memory leaks reported by kmemleak:
unreferenced object 0xffff888116111000 (size 2048):
comm "modprobe", pid 817, jiffies 4294759745 (age 76.502s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 c4 0a 04 81 88 ff ff 08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff ................
08 10 11 16 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
backtrace:
[<ffffffff815bcd82>] kmalloc_trace+0x22/0x60
[<ffffffff827e20ee>] phy_device_create+0x4e/0x90
[<ffffffff827e6072>] get_phy_device+0xd2/0x220
[<ffffffff827e7844>] mdiobus_scan+0xa4/0x2e0
[<ffffffff827e8be2>] __mdiobus_register+0x482/0x8b0
[<ffffffffa01f5d24>] r6040_init_one+0x714/0xd2c [r6040]
...
The problem occurs in probe process as follows:
r6040_init_one:
mdiobus_register
mdiobus_scan <- alloc and register phy_device,
the reference count of phy_device is 3
r6040_mii_probe
phy_connect <- connect to the first phy_device,
so the reference count of the first
phy_device is 4, others are 3
register_netdev <- fault inject succeeded, goto error handling path
// error handling path
err_out_mdio_unregister:
mdiobus_unregister(lp->mii_bus);
err_out_mdio:
mdiobus_free(lp->mii_bus); <- the reference count of the first
phy_device is 1, it is not released
and other phy_devices are released
// similarly, the remove process also has the same problem
The root cause is traced to the phy_device is not disconnected when
removes one r6040 device in r6040_remove_one() or on error handling path
after r6040_mii probed successfully. In r6040_mii_probe(), a net ethernet
device is connected to the first PHY device of mii_bus, in order to
notify the connected driver when the link status changes, which is the
default behavior of the PHY infrastructure to handle everything.
Therefore the phy_device should be disconnected when removes one r6040
device or on error handling path.
Fix it by adding phy_disconnect() when removes one r6040 device or on
error handling path after r6040_mii probed successfully.
This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity none, availability high.
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVE-2022-50545 is recorded against 2 packages.
Published on 7 October 2025 and last revised on 12 August 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. A vendor advisory or fix has been published. Record sourced from NVD.
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
github.com (Advisory)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
git.kernel.org (Package)
kernel has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| kernel | 6.1.0 | 6.1.2 |
| linux-kernel | 6.1 | 6.1.2 |
References
Similar Threats
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