Medium [CVE-2026-72040] fix refcount leak in i_ipmi_request

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipmi: fix refcount leak in i_ipmi_request() When a caller provides a `supplied_recv` message to i_ipmi_request(), the function increments the user's `nr_msgs` reference count.

If an error occurs later, the out_err cleanup path only frees the recv_msg if the function allocated it itself (i.e.,!supplied_recv). In the supplied_recv case the cleanup is skipped, leaving the reference count elevated.

The caller ipmi_request_supply_msgs() does not release the supplied_recv on error, so the reference is permanently leaked. Fix this by explicitly reverting the reference count operations when a supplied recv_msg with a valid user pointer is present in the error path: decrement nr_msgs and drop the user's kref.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) subsystem. However, if an error occurs during this process, the reference count is not properly decremented, resulting in a permanent resource leak.

This resource leak could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on the system. Red Hat severity: Low — CVSS 5.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Weakness: CWE-911. Red Hat lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 as not affected.