Refcount Leak in Meson HDMI Encoder in Linux Kernel

CVE-2022-50184

What is CVE-2022-50184?

In the Linux kernel's handling of the Meson HDMI encoder, a vulnerability was identified related to reference count management. The function of_graph_get_remote_node() inadvertently fails to decrement the reference count of a device node pointer after it has been used, leading to a potential resource leak. This oversight can create stability issues within the kernel, necessitating the implementation of of_node_put() to properly manage reference counts and prevent leaks.

References