The flaw in the Linux kernel’s NVDIMM BTT subsystem manifests when discover_arenas() encounters an error and fails to free memory allocations made by btt_freelist_init, btt_rtt_init, or btt_maplocks_init. This omission causes kernel‑space memory to be unintentionally retained, resulting in a leak that can gradually consume available memory.

All Linux kernel releases prior to the commit that added the missing kfree calls in the discover_arenas error path are affected. The issue resides in the core kernel, so any system running an unpatched kernel that utilizes NVDIMM block devices is vulnerable.

The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates moderate severity while the EPSS score of less than 1% suggests a low likelihood of exploitation. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. The likely attack vector is local or privileged access that can trigger an arena discovery failure, which would exercise the code path that leaks memory. The impact remains confined to resource exhaustion within the kernel; remote code execution is not implied by the available data. If repeated leaks occur, they may diminish system availability by exhausting memory resources.