Service interruption via unfreed I2C transfer structure
Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026
Memory leak in the DesignWare I3C master driver in Linux kernel 6.11 allows local users to exhaust kernel memory during I2C transfers. dw_i3c_master_i2c_xfers() allocates an xfer structure, then returns without freeing it when pm_runtime_resume_and_get() fails. The driver and a runtime power-management resume failure are required; repeated attempts consume memory without reading or modifying data.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the DesignWare I3C master driver in Linux kernel 6.11 allows local users to exhaust kernel memory during I2C transfers. dw_i3c_master_i2c_xfers() allocates an xfer structure, then returns without freeing it when pm_runtime_resume_and_get() fails. The driver and a runtime power-management resume failure are required; repeated attempts consume memory without reading or modifying data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-45863
- Published
- May 27, 2026
- Updated
- May 27, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 27, 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.
- Affected versionversion=6.11
- Affected versionversion=62fe9d06f5709caa1fa68055873ff279e05ade37 <140a45bd4f6db7d1b30cab967d29689b946c52fa
- Affected versionversion=62fe9d06f5709caa1fa68055873ff279e05ade37 <2537089413514caaa9a5fdeeac3a34d45100f747
- Affected versionversion=62fe9d06f5709caa1fa68055873ff279e05ade37 <8e71414e252c1cb235911008a98fd47927d3a55c
- Affected versionversion=62fe9d06f5709caa1fa68055873ff279e05ade37 <a2c41467ef42f69a3958493a0395ba75174710dc
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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