The Linux kernel routine that closes an NFC device omitted the cleanup of resources tied to pending data exchanges. When a device is closed, an unreferenced memory object—specifically a socket structure held by the data‑exchange callback—is left behind. The accumulation of such leaked objects can consume kernel memory and potentially trigger denial‑of‑service conditions if triggered repeatedly.

All Linux kernel builds that did not incorporate the commit adding the missing completion call in nci_close_device() are affected. The vulnerability exists in the kernel source before that change, so any distribution shipping the unpatched kernel is vulnerable. The problem is kernel‑level and applies to all vendors that provide the affected kernel release.

Exploitation requires privileges capable of closing an NFC device, i.e., kernel or driver‑level access. The EPSS score is below 1 % and the vulnerability is not listed in the KEV catalog, suggesting a low probability of active exploitation. Nevertheless, an attacker with sufficient access could repeatedly trigger the leak to exhaust memory, leading to degraded system availability. Updating the kernel removes the flaw entirely.