A flaw in the MediaTek Ethernet driver’s XDP setup routine causes the pointer to an eBPF program to be reset to its previous value when mtk_open fails, but the reference count of the old program is not decreased. This results in a kernel memory leak that can grow over time and lead to out‑of‑memory conditions or instability. The vulnerability does not grant arbitrary code execution or data exfiltration, but it can impact confidentiality, integrity, or availability through resource exhaustion.

The issue affects Linux kernel builds that include the MediaTek Ethernet driver (mtk_eth_soc) and support XDP eBPF program loading. All distributions shipping an unmodified driver before the patch commit are vulnerable; no specific kernel versions are listed, and version details from the CNA are absent.

The EPSS score is below 1% and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, indicating a low likelihood of exploitation. Attackers would need the ability to load XDP programs onto a MediaTek Ethernet interface, which typically requires privileged (root) access or capabilities such as CAP_NET_ADMIN. Given a CVSS score of 5.5, the risk is considered moderate, mainly limited to memory exhaustion that could be mitigated by disabling the affected driver or XDP programs.