Bug 2388940 (CVE-2025-38542)

Summary: CVE-2025-38542 kernel: Linux kernel: Denial of Service via device refcount leak in Appletalk protocol implementation
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
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Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Appletalk protocol implementation. A local user with low privileges could exploit a device reference count (refcount) leak in the atrtr_create() function. This vulnerability, a type of resource management error, prevents the proper release of device resources. The most important consequence is a Denial of Service (DoS), which could lead to system instability or unresponsiveness.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2025-08-16 12:02:43 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: appletalk: Fix device refcount leak in atrtr_create()

When updating an existing route entry in atrtr_create(), the old device
reference was not being released before assigning the new device,
leading to a device refcount leak. Fix this by calling dev_put() to
release the old device reference before holding the new one.
Comment 1 Alexander B 2025-08-18 12:59:16 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025081626-CVE-2025-38542-f304@gregkh/T