Linux · Linux Kernel · CVE-2022-49016
**Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions**
Linux kernel (affected versions not specified)
**Description**
The issue is related to an unbalanced node reference count in the Linux kernel's net component, specifically in the mdiobus subsystem. This can lead to a memory leak. The problem occurs when the `fwnode` is not an ACPI node, and the reference count is incremented in `fwnode mdiobus phy device register()`, but never decremented when the device is freed. To fix this, `fwnode handle put()` is called in `phy device release()`. If the `fwnode` is an ACPI node, the reference count is not incremented, but it is decremented in the error path, so `fwnode handle get()` is called before `phy device register()` to balance the get/put operation. The estimated number of potentially affected devices is not provided.
**Recommendations**
To resolve the issue, update the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for the unbalanced node reference count in the mdiobus subsystem.
At the moment, there is no information about a newer version that contains a fix for this vulnerability.