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CVE-2026-23137
of: unittest: Fix memory leak in unittest_data_add()
Published 2026-02-14 (8 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/of. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
Debian does not build this code. The per-release build detail is under "Where it lives" below.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-23137 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | vulnerable | 6.1.190-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 6.18.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.18.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 6.18.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.18.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
In unittest_data_add(), if of_resolve_phandles() fails, the allocated unittest_data is not freed, leading to a memory leak. Fix this by using scope-based cleanup helper __free(kfree) for automatic resource cleanup. This ensures unittest_data is automatically freed when it goes out of scope in error paths. For the success path, use retain_and_null_ptr() to transfer ownership of the memory to the device tree and prevent double freeing.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
drivers/of/unittest.c
- What this is
- OPEN FIRMWARE AND FLATTENED DEVICE TREEMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/of/ · devicetree@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- none to look for. The file would have gone into unittest, and Debian does not compile it into that module, so finding unittest in lsmod would say nothing about this CVE.
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_OF|CONFIG_OF_UNITTEST' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian does not build this code. In 5 releases below, every kernel flavour Debian publishes has the switch off, so the vulnerable file is compiled into no kernel binary Debian ships.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12n
- n
- not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code
- Build switches
- CONFIG_OF, CONFIG_OF_UNITTEST
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-02-14 (8 months ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.14%, higher than 3.1% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/of
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 3.18 | 6.12.110 | 58baf98d1bda |
| 3.18 | 6.18.6 | f09b0f705bd7 |
| 3.18 | 6.19 | 235a1eb8d2dc |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-23137, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.