CVE-2025-37989

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phy: leds: fix memory leak A network restart test on a router led to an out-of-memory condition, which was traced to a memory leak in the PHY LED trigger code. The root cause is misuse of the devm API. The registration function (phy_led_triggers_register) is called from phy_attach_direct, not phy_probe, and the unregister function (phy_led_triggers_unregister) is called from phy_detach, not phy_remove. This means the register and unregister functions can be called multiple times for the same PHY device, but devm-allocated memory is not freed until the driver is unbound. This also prevents kmemleak from detecting the leak, as the devm API internally stores the allocated pointer. Fix this by replacing devm_kzalloc/devm_kcalloc with standard kzalloc/kcalloc, and add the corresponding kfree calls in the unregister path.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-05-20
Last modified 2025-12-16
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-401

CVE-2025-37989 is a Memory Leak vulnerability

What is Memory Leak?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.10 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.14.5, 6.15 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.10
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.293 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.237 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.181 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.136 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.89 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.26 6.12.x ✓ 6.14.5 6.14.x ✓ 6.15

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-37989 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

8 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-37989?

    CVE-2025-37989 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.10 onward and has been patched in 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181 and others. CVE-2025-37989 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-37989?

    CVE-2025-37989 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-37989?

    Yes — CVE-2025-37989 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.10 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-37989 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-37989 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

    The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →

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