CVE-2026-46221
EDAC/versalnet Memory Leak Fix in Linux Kernel
Publication date: 2026-05-28
Last updated on: 2026-05-28
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel related to the EDAC/versalnet driver. Specifically, the device name allocated using kzalloc() in the function init_one_mc() is assigned to dev->init_name but is never freed during the normal device removal process. Since device_register() copies the init_name and then sets dev->init_name to NULL, the original allocated memory becomes unreachable and is therefore leaked.
The fix involves using a stack-local character array instead of dynamically allocating memory with kzalloc() for the device name, preventing the memory leak.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can lead to a memory leak in the Linux kernel, which means that memory allocated for device names is not properly freed when devices are removed. Over time, this can cause increased memory usage and potentially degrade system performance or stability, especially on systems where devices are frequently added and removed.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
The vulnerability involves a memory leak in the Linux kernel's EDAC/versalnet driver due to improper freeing of device name memory.
To mitigate this vulnerability, update your Linux kernel to a version where this issue is fixed, as the fix involves changing the allocation method for the device name from kzalloc() to a stack-local char array.