CVE-2026-46109

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Memory Leak in Linux Kernel USB ULPI Driver

Publication date: 2026-05-28

Last updated on: 2026-06-24

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: ulpi: fix memory leak on ulpi_register() error paths Commit 01af542392b5 ("usb: ulpi: fix double free in ulpi_register_interface() error path") removed kfree(ulpi) from ulpi_register_interface() to fix a double-free when device_register() fails. But when ulpi_of_register() or ulpi_read_id() fail before device_register() is called, the ulpi allocation is leaked. Add kfree(ulpi) on both error paths to properly clean up the allocation.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-05-28

Last Modified

2026-06-24

Generated

2026-07-08

AI Q&A

2026-05-28

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-06

NVD

CVE-2026-46109

EUVD

EUVD-2026-32868

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	7.0
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.0
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.1.168 (inc) to 6.1.175 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 7.0.1 (inc) to 7.0.7 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.19.12 (inc) to 7.0 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.10.253 (inc) to 5.10.258 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.15.203 (inc) to 5.15.209 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.12.81 (inc) to 6.12.88 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.18.22 (inc) to 6.18.30 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.6.134 (inc) to 6.6.140 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-401	The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel's USB ULPI driver. Specifically, when certain error conditions occur before the device registration step, allocated memory for ULPI is not properly freed, causing a memory leak.

Previously, a fix was made to prevent a double-free error by removing a kfree call in one error path, but this introduced a new issue where memory allocated for ULPI was leaked if errors happened earlier in the process.

The fix adds proper memory deallocation (kfree) on these earlier error paths to ensure no memory is leaked.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to memory leaks in the Linux kernel when using the ULPI USB driver. Over time, repeated memory leaks can degrade system performance or stability, potentially causing resource exhaustion.

However, this issue does not directly lead to code execution or privilege escalation, but it may affect system reliability.

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, update your Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for the memory leak in the ulpi_register() error paths. The fix involves proper cleanup of memory allocations in the USB ULPI driver to prevent leaks and double frees.

Since this is a kernel-level issue, applying the latest kernel patches or upgrading to a fixed kernel version is the recommended immediate step.

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