CVE-2020-36784

Local denial of service via PM reference leak

Published Feb 28, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

A reference leak in the Cadence I2C driver in Linux allows local users to exhaust power-management references and interrupt service. cdns_i2c_master_xfer and cdns_reg_slave call pm_runtime_get_sync, which increments the usage counter even when runtime resume fails, but the error paths omit the balancing put operation. Reachability requires low-privilege local access and a Cadence I2C controller path where runtime resume fails; the resulting leak affects availability only.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A reference leak in the Cadence I2C driver in Linux allows local users to exhaust power-management references and interrupt service. cdns_i2c_master_xfer and cdns_reg_slave call pm_runtime_get_sync, which increments the usage counter even when runtime resume fails, but the error paths omit the balancing put operation. Reachability requires low-privilege local access and a Cadence I2C controller path where runtime resume fails; the resulting leak affects availability only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-36784
Published
Feb 28, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-772, T1499.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 28, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.5
  2. Affected versionversion=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <23ceb8462dc6f4b4decdb5536a7e5fc477cdf0b6
  3. Affected versionversion=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <30410519328c94367e561fd878e5f0d3a0303585
  4. Affected versionversion=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <a45fc41beed8e0fe31864619c34aa00797fb60c1
  5. Affected versionversion=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <d57ff04e0ed6f3be1682ae861ead33f879225e07

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.5; version=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <23ceb8462dc6f4b4decdb5536a7e5fc477cdf0b6; version=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <30410519328c94367e561fd878e5f0d3a0303585; version=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <a45fc41beed8e0fe31864619c34aa00797fb60c1; version=7fa32329ca03148fb2c07b4ef3247b8fc0488d6a <d57ff04e0ed6f3be1682ae861ead33f879225e07

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-772Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime
T1499.001OS Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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