Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's DMA (Direct Memory Access) multiplexer for certain NXP processors could allow a local user to cause a resource leak. This occurs when the system fails to properly release internal references during data routing tasks. Over time, this could lead to system instability or a denial-of-service condition as system resources are exhausted.
Technical details
A resource leak (CWE-401) exists in the dmaengine component of the Linux kernel, specifically within the lpc18xx-dmamux driver. The function `lpc18xx_dmamux_reserve` fails to call `put_device()` after looking up the DMA mux platform device during route allocation. This results in a reference count leak for the device object. An attacker with local access could potentially exploit this to exhaust kernel memory or prevent device unbinding, leading to a denial of service. The issue has been patched in multiple stable branches including 5.10.250, 5.15.200, 6.1.163, 6.6.123, 6.12.68, and 6.18.8.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel 4.3 to 5.10.249, 5.11 to 5.15.199, 5.16 to 6.1.162, 6.2 to 6.6.122, 6.7 to 6.12.67, 6.13 to 6.18.7
Timeline
- 2025-01-31: disclosed
- 2025-01-31: advisory
- 2026-01-23: patched: Initial patch commit in stable tree
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e47d80f6720f0224efd19bcf081d39637569c10
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d396ebfb3049a2b5fac51d2c967db5114b685e8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/499ddae78c4baa9b94df76b2d2eb6b150d15377f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/992eb8055a6e5dbb808672d20d68e60d5a89b12b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9fba97baa520c9446df51a64708daf27c5a7ed32
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/adef147a8d8c3d767abf88ad2c381ffab2993086
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4d63059dee7e7cae0c4d9a532ed558bc90efb55