Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc2 mtd nanddev_ecc_engine_cleanup memory leak

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5.0$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc2. This affects the function nanddev_ecc_engine_cleanup of the component mtd. Such manipulation leads to memory leak. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2025-38384. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc2 and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function nanddev_ecc_engine_cleanup of the component mtd. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: spinand: fix memory leak of ECC engine conf Memory allocated for the ECC engine conf is not released during spinand cleanup. Below kmemleak trace is seen for this memory leak: unreferenced object 0xffffff80064f00e0 (size 8): comm "swapper/0", pid 1, jiffies 4294937458 hex dump (first 8 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........ backtrace (crc 0): kmemleak_alloc+0x30/0x40 __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x208/0x3c0 spinand_ondie_ecc_init_ctx+0x114/0x200 nand_ecc_init_ctx+0x70/0xa8 nanddev_ecc_engine_init+0xec/0x27c spinand_probe+0xa2c/0x1620 spi_mem_probe+0x130/0x21c spi_probe+0xf0/0x170 really_probe+0x17c/0x6e8 __driver_probe_device+0x17c/0x21c driver_probe_device+0x58/0x180 __device_attach_driver+0x15c/0x1f8 bus_for_each_drv+0xec/0x150 __device_attach+0x188/0x24c device_initial_probe+0x10/0x20 bus_probe_device+0x11c/0x160 Fix the leak by calling nanddev_ecc_engine_cleanup() inside spinand_cleanup().

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-38384 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265954 (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS : Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities (USN-7776-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.15.187, 6.1.144, 6.6.97, 6.12.37, 6.15.6 or 6.16-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 68d3417305ee100dcad90fd6e5846b22497aa394/f99408670407abb6493780e38cb4ece3fbb52cfc/d5c1e3f32902ab518519d05515ee6030fd6c59ae/c40b207cafd006c610832ba52a81cedee77adcb9/93147abf80a831dd3b5660b3309b4f09546073b2/6463cbe08b0cbf9bba8763306764f5fd643023e1 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (265954) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1653). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

  • Debian Linux
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Ubuntu Linux
  • SUSE Linux
  • Oracle Linux
  • IBM QRadar SIEM
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • RESF Rocky Linux
  • Dell Avamar
  • Open Source Linux Kernel
  • Dell NetWorker
  • Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.0

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 265954
Nessus Name: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS : Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities (USN-7776-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.15.187/6.1.144/6.6.97/6.12.37/6.15.6/6.16-rc3
Patch: 68d3417305ee100dcad90fd6e5846b22497aa394/f99408670407abb6493780e38cb4ece3fbb52cfc/d5c1e3f32902ab518519d05515ee6030fd6c59ae/c40b207cafd006c610832ba52a81cedee77adcb9/93147abf80a831dd3b5660b3309b4f09546073b2/6463cbe08b0cbf9bba8763306764f5fd643023e1

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
07/25/2025 +100 days Advisory disclosed
07/25/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/03/2026 +162 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38384 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38384
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-317660
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1653 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 07/25/2025 15:42
Updated: 01/03/2026 16:16
Changes: 07/25/2025 15:42 (59), 08/19/2025 20:53 (7), 09/14/2025 15:44 (1), 09/15/2025 18:59 (1), 09/27/2025 00:35 (2), 09/28/2025 19:06 (1), 11/02/2025 09:16 (1), 11/17/2025 00:46 (1), 12/15/2025 20:35 (12), 01/03/2026 16:16 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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