CVE-2025-37989: Linux kernel · net: phy: leds: fix memory leak
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 21:51 UTC
Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA
Thin evidence
One scorer or noneExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 May 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
A fix is available that replaces devm-managed allocations with standard kernel allocations and adds explicit memory free calls. Users should apply the updated Linux kernel patches that address this memory leak in the PHY LED trigger code. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.
Description
A memory leak vulnerability was identified and fixed in the Linux kernel's PHY LED trigger code. The issue was caused by improper use of the devm API, leading to memory not being freed during multiple register/unregister calls for the same PHY device. This could cause out-of-memory conditions during network restart tests on routers.
References
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/966d6494e2ed9be9052fcd9815afba830896aaf8 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/95bed65cc0eb2a610550abf849a8b94374da80a7 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/663c3da86e807c6c07ed48f911c7526fad6fe1ff (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f41f097f68a33d392579885426d0734a81219501 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/618541a6cc1511064dfa58c89b3445e21844092f (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/41143e71052a00d654c15dc924fda50c1e7357d0 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f3d5880800f962c347777c4f8358f29f5fc403c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7f0ee992adf601aa00c252418266177eb7ac2bc (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html (opens in a new tab)