Executive brief
A vulnerability was identified in the Linux kernel's ARM Memory System Resource Partitioning and Monitoring (MPAM) driver. The issue occurs when the system attempts to disable a component that was never fully initialized, leading to a system crash. This could potentially be used by a local attacker to cause a denial-of-service (system crash), impacting the availability of the affected server or device.
Technical details
A NULL pointer dereference exists in the Linux kernel's ARM MPAM (Memory System Resource Partitioning and Monitoring) implementation within `drivers/resctrl/mpam_devices.c`. The function `__destroy_component_cfg()` is responsible for freeing configuration arrays and utilizes an embedded 'garbage' structure. If `mpam_disable()` is invoked before the configuration array is allocated via `__allocate_component_cfg()`, `__destroy_component_cfg()` attempts to access the unallocated array, resulting in a kernel panic. The fix introduces a check to ensure `comp->cfg` is valid before proceeding with destruction. This issue affects ARM-based systems utilizing MPAM for resource control.
Affected products
- Linux Linux 6.19, 7.0.10, 7.1
Timeline
- 2026-05-08: other: Patch authored
- 2026-06-26: disclosed: CVE published