CVE-2025-37989: debian linux — Fix

Description

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.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-401 CWE-401

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	4.10 — 5.4.293
linux	linux_kernel	5.5 — 5.10.237
linux	linux_kernel	5.11 — 5.15.181
linux	linux_kernel	5.16 — 6.1.136
linux	linux_kernel	6.2 — 6.6.89
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.12.26
linux	linux_kernel	6.13 — 6.14.5
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
debian	debian_linux	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41143e71052a00d654c15dc924fda50c1e7357d0 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/618541a6cc1511064dfa58c89b3445e21844092f https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/663c3da86e807c6c07ed48f911c7526fad6fe1ff https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f3d5880800f962c347777c4f8358f29f5fc403c https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95bed65cc0eb2a610550abf849a8b94374da80a7 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/966d6494e2ed9be9052fcd9815afba830896aaf8 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7f0ee992adf601aa00c252418266177eb7ac2bc https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f41f097f68a33d392579885426d0734a81219501

Other References

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-37989? +

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. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-37989? +

CVE-2025-37989 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-37989? +

CVE-2025-37989 affects products from debian, linux, specifically: debian_linux, linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-37989? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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