CVE-2026-64332 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 07/25/2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
USB: ulpi: fix memory leak on registration failure
The allocated device name is never freed on early ULPI device registration failures.
Fix this by initialising the device structure earlier and releasing the initial reference whenever registration fails.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/25/2026
The vulnerability described represents a memory management issue within the Linux kernel's USB subsystem, specifically affecting the Universal Link Protocol Interface (ULPI) driver implementation. This flaw manifests as a memory leak that occurs during the device registration process when early failure conditions are encountered. The ULPI interface serves as a standard for communicating with USB transceivers and is commonly used in embedded systems and mobile devices where USB connectivity must be managed through low-level hardware interfaces.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper resource management within the device registration workflow. When the ULPI driver attempts to register a USB device but encounters an early failure condition, the allocated device name string memory is not properly released back to the system. This memory leak occurs because the device structure initialization happens after the allocation of resources that may subsequently fail during registration. The failure typically occurs before the proper cleanup mechanisms can be invoked, leaving allocated memory in an unrecoverable state.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a moderate security risk as it can lead to gradual memory exhaustion on systems with continuous USB device operations or frequent device plug/unplug cycles. The memory leak may not immediately cause system instability but can accumulate over time, particularly in embedded systems or devices that frequently interact with USB peripherals. This type of resource leak can also impact the overall system performance and reliability, potentially leading to degraded service quality or unexpected system behavior under sustained load conditions.
The fix implemented addresses this issue by reordering the initialization sequence within the driver code to ensure proper resource management throughout the registration process. By initializing the device structure earlier in the process and implementing proper reference release mechanisms whenever registration failures occur, the vulnerability is resolved. This approach follows established software engineering principles for exception handling and resource cleanup, ensuring that all allocated resources are properly accounted for regardless of execution path outcomes.
This memory leak vulnerability aligns with common patterns found in the CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) catalog under weakness category 401, which deals with improper management of dynamic resources. The fix methodology corresponds to the ATT&CK framework's mitigation strategies for system resource management, specifically addressing techniques related to process and memory manipulation. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper initialization ordering and resource cleanup in kernel space code where memory leaks can have long-term operational impacts on system stability. Additionally, this issue highlights the critical need for comprehensive error handling in device driver development, particularly when dealing with hardware interface protocols that may encounter various failure conditions during initialization phases.