CVE-2025-38235
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-07-06

Last updated on: 2025-11-18

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: appletb-kbd: fix "appletb_backlight" backlight device reference counting During appletb_kbd_probe, probe attempts to get the backlight device by name. When this happens backlight_device_get_by_name looks for a device in the backlight class which has name "appletb_backlight" and upon finding a match it increments the reference count for the device and returns it to the caller. However this reference is never released leading to a reference leak. Fix this by decrementing the backlight device reference count on removal via put_device and on probe failure.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-07-06
Last Modified
2025-11-18
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-07-06
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2025-38235
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 4 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 6.16
linux linux_kernel 6.16
linux linux_kernel 6.16
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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CWE ID Description
CWE-NVD-CWE-Other
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a reference leak in the Linux kernel's appletb-kbd driver. During the probe process, the driver obtains a backlight device by name, which increases the device's reference count. However, this reference count is never decreased, causing a reference leak. The issue is fixed by properly decrementing the reference count when the device is removed or when the probe fails.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

The reference leak caused by this vulnerability can lead to resource exhaustion in the kernel, potentially causing system instability or degraded performance over time as the leaked references accumulate.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

To mitigate this vulnerability, update the Linux kernel to a version where the appletb-kbd backlight device reference counting issue has been fixed. This involves applying the patch that decrements the backlight device reference count on removal and on probe failure, preventing the reference leak.


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