[PATCH v2] mm: thp: Fix refcount leak in thpsize_create() error path
From: Guangshuo Li
Date: Sun Apr 12 2026 - 13:54:56 EST
After kobject_init_and_add(), the lifetime of the embedded struct
kobject is expected to be managed through the kobject core reference
counting.
In thpsize_create(), if kobject_init_and_add() fails, thpsize is freed
directly with kfree() rather than releasing the kobject reference with
kobject_put(). This may leave the reference count of the embedded struct
kobject unbalanced, resulting in a refcount leak.
Fix this by using kobject_put(&thpsize->kobj) in the failure path and
letting thpsize_release() handle the final cleanup.
Fixes: 3485b88390b0 ("mm: thp: introduce multi-size THP sysfs interface")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Guangshuo Li <lgs201920130244@xxxxxxxxx>
---
v2:
- Drop the incorrect UAF mention from the commit message
- Clarify that the bug is an unbalanced kobject reference in the
- kobject_init_and_add() failure path
mm/huge_memory.c | 4 +---
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/mm/huge_memory.c b/mm/huge_memory.c
index 40cf59301c21..c8ffa188a198 100644
--- a/mm/huge_memory.c
+++ b/mm/huge_memory.c
@@ -726,10 +726,8 @@ static struct thpsize *thpsize_create(int order, struct kobject *parent)
ret = kobject_init_and_add(&thpsize->kobj, &thpsize_ktype, parent,
"hugepages-%lukB", size);
- if (ret) {
- kfree(thpsize);
+ if (ret)
goto err;
- }
ret = sysfs_add_group(&thpsize->kobj, &any_ctrl_attr_grp);
--
2.43.0