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CVE-2020-36784: i2c: cadence: fix reference leak when pm_runtime_get_sync fails

• Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2024-02-28 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: cadence: fix reference leak when pm_runtime_get_sync fails The PM reference count is not expected to be incremented on return in functions cdns_i2c_master_xfer and cdns_reg_slave. However, pm_runtime_get_sync will increment pm usage counter even failed. Forgetting to putting operation will result in a reference leak here. Replace it with pm_runtime_resume_and_get to keep usage counter balanced.

Affected products

• Linux kernel: from 4.5 before 5.10.37; from 5.11 before 5.11.21; from 5.12 before 5.12.4 — fixed in 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23ceb8462dc6f4b4decdb5536a7e5fc477cdf0b6
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30410519328c94367e561fd878e5f0d3a0303585
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a45fc41beed8e0fe31864619c34aa00797fb60c1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d57ff04e0ed6f3be1682ae861ead33f879225e07
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23ceb8462dc6f4b4decdb5536a7e5fc477cdf0b6
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30410519328c94367e561fd878e5f0d3a0303585
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a45fc41beed8e0fe31864619c34aa00797fb60c1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d57ff04e0ed6f3be1682ae861ead33f879225e07

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