CVE-2025-38537
MEDIUMCVSS VectorNVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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3DescriptionNVD
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: phy: Don't register LEDs for genphy
If a PHY has no driver, the genphy driver is probed/removed directly in phy_attach/detach. If the PHY's ofnode has an "leds" subnode, then the LEDs will be (un)registered when probing/removing the genphy driver. This could occur if the leds are for a non-generic driver that isn't loaded for whatever reason. Synchronously removing the PHY device in phy_detach leads to the following deadlock:
rtnl_lock() ndo_close() ... phy_detach() phy_remove() phy_leds_unregister() led_classdev_unregister() led_trigger_set() netdev_trigger_deactivate() unregister_netdevice_notifier() rtnl_lock()
There is a corresponding deadlock on the open/register side of things (and that one is reported by lockdep), but it requires a race while this one is deterministic.
Generic PHYs do not support LEDs anyway, so don't bother registering them.
AnalysisAI
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phy: Don't register LEDs for genphy If a PHY has no driver, the genphy driver is probed/removed directly in phy_attach/detach. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Technical ContextAI
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phy: Don't register LEDs for genphy If a PHY has no driver, the genphy driver is probed/removed directly in phy_attach/detach. If the PHY's ofnode has an "leds" subnode, then the LEDs will be (un)registered when probing/removing the genphy driver. This could occur if the leds are for a non-generic driver that isn't loaded for whatever reason. Synchronously removing the PHY device in phy_detach leads to the following deadlock: rtnl_lock() ndo_close() ... phy_detach() phy_remove() phy_leds_unregister() led_classdev_unregister() led_trigger_set() netdev_trigger_deactivate() unregister_netdevice_notifier() rtnl_lock() There is a corresponding deadlock on the open/register side of things (and that one is reported by lockdep), but it requires a race while this one is deterministic. Generic PHYs do not support LEDs anyway, so don't bother registering them. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.
RemediationAI
A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.
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