Executive brief
The Linux kernel's InfiniBand HFI1 driver fails to properly clean up allocated network resources when device initialization encounters errors during probe. This memory leak leaves orphaned network device objects in kernel memory, consuming resources and potentially preventing proper device reinitialization.
Technical details
A resource cleanup bug in the hfi1_init_dd() function and init_one() error handling path: hfi1_init_dd() allocates shared AIP/VNIC receive (RX) support structures, but if subsequent initialization steps (hfi1_init() or hfi1_register_ib_device()) fail, the init_one() error path calls postinit_cleanup() without first calling hfi1_free_rx(). This leaks the netdev_rx structure and its associated dummy netdev. The fix adds a single hfi1_free_rx(dd) call in the error handling path after IB device unregistration and before postinit_cleanup(), ensuring symmetric cleanup.
Affected products
- Linux Linux kernel affected versions include 4.x through 6.x (specific vulnerable range unknown from advisory)
Timeline
- 2026-09-17: disclosed
- 2026-09-14: patched