CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-97973

Unknown
Published: Translated: NVD NIST

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the macb network driver has a phylink instance leak on the probe error path. The macb_mii_init() function creates a phylink instance on both success paths, but the probe unwind frees the netdev without destroying the instance, leading to memory leak. The fix destroys the phylink instance at the appropriate location.

Risk Assessment

The vulnerability leads to memory leak, which can cause system performance degradation and potential crashes in case of repeated initialization attempts.

Recommendation

It is recommended to update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix that destroys the phylink instance on the error path.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

See all
Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path macb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths, but the probe unwind frees the netdev without destroying it, so a failing macb_alloc_tieoff() or register_netdev() leaks the instance. Destroy it at err_out_unregister_mdio, which is only reachable once macb_mii_init() has succeeded, so bp->phylink is valid there.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS