Bug 2516594 (CVE-2026-72223)

Summary: CVE-2026-72223 kernel: nvdimm/btt: Free arena sub-allocations on discover_arenas() error path
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's nvdimm/btt module. This vulnerability occurs when the `discover_arenas()` function encounters an error, failing to properly deallocate memory. Specifically, memory allocated by sub-functions like `btt_freelist_init()` is not released, leading to a memory leak. This can result in system instability or denial of service over time due to resource exhaustion.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 06:20:49 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nvdimm/btt: Free arena sub-allocations on discover_arenas() error path

Memory allocated by btt_freelist_init(), btt_rtt_init(), and
btt_maplocks_init() is not freed on some discover_arenas() error
paths. This leaks memory when arena discovery fails.

Add the missing kfree() calls to release the allocations before
returning an error.

[ as: commit message and log edits ]
Comment 1 Keith Grant 2026-08-18 16:24:17 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026081547-CVE-2026-72223-9d84@gregkh/T