CVE-2022-48961

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's mdio network driver. A local attacker could exploit an unbalanced fwnode reference count in the mdio_device_release() function, leading to a memory leak. This vulnerability could result in a denial of service (DoS) due to system resource exhaustion.

This vulnerability is rated as having a Moderate impact for Red Hat Enterprise Linux because exploitation requires local access and repeated device attachment or detachment cycles on systems that employ Open Firmware device trees. Typical enterprise server installations on x86 architectures do not utilize device tree overlays, significantly restricting exposure. Furthermore, triggering hardware reconfiguration or dynamic device overlay changes generally requires administrative privileges, preventing unprivileged users from readily causing system-wide memory exhaustion.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.