Service interruption via leaked PHY clock resources
Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Resource leak in the Linux kernel MediaTek T-PHY driver allows local users to interrupt service through failed PHY initialization. The mtk_phy_init error path enables the PHY reference clock but returns without calling clk_disable_unprepare when initialization fails, leaving the clock resource enabled. Reachability requires local low-privileged access, compatible MediaTek hardware, and a T-PHY configuration that enters the failing initialization path; repeated failures exhaust resources and interrupt service.
Summary
What happened
Resource leak in the Linux kernel MediaTek T-PHY driver allows local users to interrupt service through failed PHY initialization. The mtk_phy_init error path enables the PHY reference clock but returns without calling clk_disable_unprepare when initialization fails, leaving the clock resource enabled. Reachability requires local low-privileged access, compatible MediaTek hardware, and a T-PHY configuration that enters the failing initialization path; repeated failures exhaust resources and interrupt service.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47234
- Published
- May 21, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 21, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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- Affected versionversion=4.14
- Affected versionversion=44a6d6ce6436a2b827c93ac59a6187af0c381a48 <6472955af5e88b5489b6d78316082ad56ea3e489
- Affected versionversion=44a6d6ce6436a2b827c93ac59a6187af0c381a48 <9a17907946232d01aa2ec109da5f93b8d31dd425
- Affected versionversion=44a6d6ce6436a2b827c93ac59a6187af0c381a48 <aaac9a1bd370338ce372669eb9a6059d16b929aa
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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