The flaw in the Linux kernel’s drm/atmel-hlcdc driver allows a memory leak to persist in the atomic_destroy_state handling, causing drm_crtc_commit objects to remain allocated and unfreed. As these objects accumulate over time, kernel slab memory grows until the system can run out of memory, potentially leading to an out‑of‑memory condition and a crash or reboot. An attacker can trigger the leak by simply running a graphics application that uses the driver, so the vulnerability can be exercised easily without advanced privileges. The impact is therefore a denial of service rather than direct code execution or data exfiltration.

All Linux kernel builds that include the drm/atmel-hlcdc driver without the later commits applying the fix are affected, regardless of distribution. The precise kernel versions are not enumerated in the data; any kernel containing the code before the patch will be vulnerable. The fix is contained in the referenced commit series that add full cleanup via __drm_atomic_helper_plane_destroy_state().

The CVSS score is 5.5, indicating moderate severity, while the EPSS score is < 1%, reflecting a low probability of exploitation. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. The likely attack vector is local, as the leak occurs during normal graphics application usage or when a user examines kernel memory with kmemleak. Any user who can run a graphics application on the system can trigger the leak, making the risk low to moderate in threat level but potentially high in impact if the system runs the offending code for an extended period. No privilege escalation or exploitation of additional weaknesses is required beyond normal user access to the driver.