CVE-2022-49466: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2022-49466 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's SCMI (System Control and Management Interface) regulator driver that was discovered in 2022. The issue involves a reference count leak in the scmiregulatorprobe function, where the offindnodebyname() function returns a node pointer with an incremented reference count that was not properly released (Kernel Git).

The vulnerability stems from a missing ofnodeput() call in the scmiregulatorprobe function within the Linux kernel's SCMI regulator driver. When offindnodebyname() is called, it returns a node pointer with an incremented reference count, but the code failed to properly release this reference count when done, leading to a memory leak. The fix involves adding the missing ofnodeput(np) call to properly release the reference count (Kernel Git).

The vulnerability results in a reference count leak in the kernel's memory management system. While this type of issue typically leads to memory leaks and potential resource exhaustion over time, it generally has a lower severity impact compared to other types of vulnerabilities as it doesn't directly enable code execution or privilege escalation (Ubuntu Security).

The vulnerability has been fixed by adding the missing ofnodeput() call in the scmiregulatorprobe function. The fix was implemented in the Linux kernel through commit 68d6c8476fd4f448e70e0ab31ff972838ac41dae. Users should update their Linux kernel to a version that includes this fix (Kernel Git).