CVE-2024-43913

What it actually does

The NVMe Apple driver fails to call nvme_uninit_ctrl after a successful nvme_init_ctrl when a subsequent tagset allocation fails, causing a leak of the controller device memory object.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using the affected Apple NVMe hardware can experience gradual memory exhaustion under repeated error conditions, potentially leading to degraded performance, instability, or denial of service on Linux hosts.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access or the ability to induce driver error paths (such as resource allocation failures) can trigger repeated leaks of controller device structures without proper cleanup, accumulating unreleased memory.

How to fix it

Update the Linux kernel to the fixed commit f7d9a18572fcd7130459b7691bd19ee2a2e951ad or later stable releases that include the corrected reference counting and error handling split in the apple NVMe driver.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the running kernel contains commit f7d9a18572fcd7130459b7691bd19ee2a2e951ad; inspect dmesg or driver logs for absence of the prior leak path and verify nvme_uninit_ctrl is invoked on all nvme_init_ctrl success paths.

Typical attack path

1. Gain local execution or trigger NVMe device initialization on an affected Apple controller
2. Force a tagset allocation failure during nvme_init_ctrl handling
3. Repeat the error condition to accumulate leaked controller device memory
4. Monitor for system memory pressure or crashes resulting from exhaustion

How to detect it

Review kernel logs and dmesg for repeated NVMe controller initialization failures; inspect memory usage trends correlated with NVMe device attach/detach events; no public exploitation artifacts are known.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize kernel upgrade on all systems exposing Apple NVMe hardware
• Apply the fix in f7d9a18572fcd7130459b7691bd19ee2a2e951ad across distributions
• Monitor memory usage and NVMe initialization logs on affected hosts until patched