The Linux kernel's power supply driver for cpcap-battery had a defect where the reference to an nvmem device obtained via nvmem_device_find() was not released with nvmem_device_put() on success or failure paths in cpcap_battery_detect_battery_type(). This caused a permanent reference leak, which could be compounded by the driver's retry logic on subsequent battery property reads, preventing the nvmem device from ever being freed. The vulnerability was identified through code review and has been fixed.

The vulnerability causes a permanent reference leak in the kernel driver, which could lead to resource exhaustion or instability in the affected system. There is no indication of direct exploitation or escalation of privileges. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

The vulnerability has been resolved in the Linux kernel by adding the missing nvmem_device_put() call to properly release the nvmem device reference. Users should update to the fixed kernel version containing this patch. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the provided data; check the vendor advisory or Linux kernel release notes for the exact fixed version and apply the update accordingly.