CyberRota Analysis
AI-GeneratedThe vulnerability affects the Linux kernel's rtl2832_sdr driver, where improper error handling during the streaming initialization process can lead to memory leaks and potential memory corruption. Specifically, if the allocation of USB Request Blocks (URBs) fails after successful buffer allocation, it results in unfreed resources and possible access to invalid memory locations. Linux system administrators and developers working with media applications utilizing the rtl2832_sdr driver should prioritize addressing this issue to mitigate risks associated with memory management errors.
Original NVD Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: rtl2832_sdr: release URBs and stream buffers on start_streaming() failure rtl2832_sdr_start_streaming() calls rtl2832_sdr_alloc_stream_bufs(), rtl2832_sdr_alloc_urbs() and rtl2832_sdr_submit_urbs() in sequence and shares a single err: label that only unlocks the mutex and returns. When alloc_urbs() succeeds but submit_urbs() fails, or when alloc_urbs() itself returns -ENOMEM after alloc_stream_bufs() has already succeeded, the URBs and/or the coherent DMA stream buffers stay allocated while streaming reports failure to vb2. Two latent defects follow on the next VIDIOC_STREAMON: 1) rtl2832_sdr_alloc_stream_bufs() unconditionally resets dev->buf_num to 0 and overwrites dev->buf_list[]/dev->dma_addr[], permanently leaking the coherent DMA memory allocated by the previous attempt. 2) rtl2832_sdr_alloc_urbs() never resets dev->urbs_initialized and only increments it. After a second successful pass urbs_initialized can exceed MAX_BULK_BUFS, so the subsequent rtl2832_sdr_free_urbs() walks from urbs_initialized - 1 down to 0 and reads past the end of dev->urb_list[], passing garbage pointers to usb_free_urb(). Mirror the teardown that stop_streaming() already performs: on the error path call rtl2832_sdr_free_urbs() and rtl2832_sdr_free_stream_bufs() before unlocking. Both helpers are idempotent (free_urbs kills and zeros urbs_initialized; free_stream_bufs is gated on URB_BUF and clears the buf_num counter), so partial-failure paths and the no-allocation paths remain safe. Issue identified by automated review of the INV-003 series at https://sashiko.dev/