Executive brief
A vulnerability was identified in the Linux kernel's MediaTek PCIe controller driver where system resources (IRQ domains) are not properly released if a hardware port fails to initialize. This results in a memory leak within the kernel. While primarily a stability issue, persistent resource leaks can eventually lead to system instability or a denial-of-service condition on affected hardware.
Technical details
A resource leak exists in drivers/pci/controller/pcie-mediatek.c within the Linux kernel. When mtk_pcie_enable_port() fails during the probe sequence, the driver calls mtk_pcie_port_free(), which removes the port structure but neglects to tear down the associated IRQ domains created by mtk_pcie_init_irq_domain(). This results in leaked IRQ domains and MSI mappings. The fix refactors the teardown logic into a per-port helper (mtk_pcie_irq_teardown_port) and ensures it is called during the error path of mtk_pcie_setup(). This issue affects MediaTek-based SoCs such as MT2712, MT7622, and EN7528.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel 5.10 and later
Timeline
- 2026-07-25: advisory: CVE-2026-64461 published by NVD
- 2026-07-24: patched: Fix committed to Linux stable tree
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1fbe8972a39548a633d06d7b03a01b7b119a2c12
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6e6a529d6f779413379b4404c9ef6a36c0337225
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce52e494a7555bdae1d990a2654fd7547ef6d986
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/df77314b3bedbd9ad5d6f0682f98b99e3c5f7e2e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e23da72ef202654a7d5269885c4fa39a8404db76
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec7c05eed47d8b15c45380aee7ca168a82e15035
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f865a57896bd92d7662eb2818d8f48872e2cbbc7