CVE-2026-72171

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Memory Technology Device (MTD) subsystem, specifically within the slram module. When register_device() fails during the allocation of a new slram_mtdlist entry, a partially initialized entry can remain on the global device list. A subsequent cleanup operation may then attempt to dereference or free invalid memory, potentially leading to memory corruption or a system crash (Denial of Service).

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Memory Technology Device (MTD) subsystem in the slram module, which Red Hat rates as having moderate security impact. The register_device() function links a new slram_mtdlist entry onto the global device list before allocating all of the state needed by that entry. If a later allocation, memremap(), or mtd_device_register() fails, the partially initialized entry remains on the global list, and a later cleanup operation can dereference or free invalid state from that failed entry, potentially causing memory corruption or a system crash (denial of service). Exploiting this flaw requires local access and privileges sufficient to load the slram module and register slram devices, and the realistic impact is a loss of availability.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat In-Vehicle OS kernel and kernel-rt streams tracked for this flaw are not affected, because the vulnerable code is not present in the shipped kernels.

The upstream CVE record assigns this flaw a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, important), while Red Hat assigns 5.5 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, moderate). This difference reflects Red Hat's assessment that this error-handling flaw results in a denial of service through a system crash, with no direct impact on confidentiality or integrity.

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.