# CVE-2022-48961: net: mdio: fix unbalanced fwnode reference count in mdio_device_release()

> A reference count leak in the Linux kernel MDIO driver can cause memory leaks and potential denial of service during device probing.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Oct 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-48961, GHSA-6wpg-r63h-r729, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2022-48961, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48961

## What is CVE-2022-48961?

CVE-2022-48961 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Oct 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: mdio: fix unbalanced fwnode reference count in mdio_device_release()

There is warning report about of_node refcount leak
while probing mdio device:

OF: ERROR: memory leak, expected refcount 1 instead of 2,
of_node_get()/of_node_put() unbalanced - destroy cset entry:
attach overlay node /spi/soc@0/mdio@710700c0/ethernet@4

In of_mdiobus_register_device(), we increase fwnode refcount
by fwnode_handle_get() before associating the of_node with
mdio device, but it has never been decreased in normal path.
Since that, in mdio_device_release(), it needs to call
fwnode_handle_put() in addition instead of calling kfree()
directly.

After above, just calling mdio_device_free() in the error handle
path of of_mdiobus_register_device() is enough to keep the
refcount balanced.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48961?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-48961?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-48961 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48961 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-48961 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-48961 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Oct 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48961 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48961/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48961/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48961
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48961
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48961

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48961/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.