During the probe of the Mediatek MT8192 audio interface driver, the kernel temporarily enables runtime power management but calls pm_runtime_get_sync() without checking its return value. If the runtime resume operation fails, the probe proceeds even though the device may not become usable, and the PM usage counter can remain incremented. The report notes that a failed regmap cache reinitialization can return before the temporary PM reference is released and before a bypass flag is cleared. The consequence is that the device may stay disabled, preventing normal operation. This flaw is a CWE‑911 vulnerability and the resulting denial of service intent is inferred from the described behavior.

All Linux kernel installations that load the Mediatek MT8192 AFE driver are affected. The issue resides in the kernel’s sound subsystem (ASoC) and manifests during the driver’s probe at boot or when the module is reloaded, affecting systems that use this specific audio interface.

The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates medium severity, and the EPSS score is below 1%. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, signifying a low probability of exploitation in the wild. Based on the description, the likely attack vector is local system or administrative access, as the flaw manifests during the driver’s probe at boot or when the module is reloaded. Attack scope is local, requiring such access to trigger the probe by rebooting or loading the driver. If an attacker can manipulate the kernel state, they could induce a persistent device outage by leaving the power‑management counter inflated.