Re: [PATCH] net: lpc_eth: Fix a possible memory leak in lpc_mii_probe()

Ma Ke
2026-04-01T13:18:40Z

On 3/30/26 13:04, Vladimir Zapolskiy wrote:
> On 3/30/26 11:16, Ma Ke wrote:
> > lpc_mii_probe() calls of_phy_find_device() to obtain a phy_device
> > pointer. of_phy_find_device() increments the refcount of the device.
> > The current implementation does not decrement the refcount after using
> > the pointer, which leads to a memory leak.
>
> this is correct, there is an actual detected bug.
>
> >
> > Add phy_device_free() to balance the refcount.
>
> But this does not sound right, you shoud use of_node_put(pldat->phy_node).
>
> >
> > Found by code review.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Ma Ke <make24@iscas.ac.cn>
> > Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
> > Fixes: 3503bf024b3e ("net: lpc_eth: parse phy nodes from device tree")
> > ---
> > drivers/net/ethernet/nxp/lpc_eth.c | 11 ++++++-----
> > 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
> >
> > diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/nxp/lpc_eth.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/nxp/lpc_eth.c
> > index 8b9a3e3bba30..8ce7c9bb6dd6 100644
> > --- a/drivers/net/ethernet/nxp/lpc_eth.c
> > +++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/nxp/lpc_eth.c
> > @@ -751,7 +751,7 @@ static void lpc_handle_link_change(struct net_device *ndev)
> > static int lpc_mii_probe(struct net_device *ndev)
> > {
> > struct netdata_local *pldat = netdev_priv(ndev);
> > - struct phy_device *phydev;
> > + struct phy_device *phydev, *phydev_tmp;
> >
> > /* Attach to the PHY */
> > if (lpc_phy_interface_mode(&pldat->pdev->dev) == PHY_INTERFACE_MODE_MII)
> > @@ -760,17 +760,18 @@ static int lpc_mii_probe(struct net_device *ndev)
> > netdev_info(ndev, "using RMII interface\n");
> >
> > if (pldat->phy_node)
> > - phydev = of_phy_find_device(pldat->phy_node);
> > + phydev_tmp = of_phy_find_device(pldat->phy_node);
> > else
> > - phydev = phy_find_first(pldat->mii_bus);
> > - if (!phydev) {
> > + phydev_tmp = phy_find_first(pldat->mii_bus);
> > + if (!phydev_tmp) {
>
> I didn't get it, why the new phydev_tmp is needed above, please
> restore the original code above.
>
> > netdev_err(ndev, "no PHY found\n");
> > return -ENODEV;
> > }
> >
> > - phydev = phy_connect(ndev, phydev_name(phydev),
> > + phydev = phy_connect(ndev, phydev_name(phydev_tmp),
> > &lpc_handle_link_change,
> > lpc_phy_interface_mode(&pldat->pdev->dev));
> > + phy_device_free(phydev_tmp);
>
> This is plainly wrong and has to be dropped or changed to
>
> if (pldat->phy_node)
> of_node_put(pldat->phy_node);
>
> > if (IS_ERR(phydev)) {
> > netdev_err(ndev, "Could not attach to PHY\n");
> > return PTR_ERR(phydev);
>
> Is it AI generated fix or what?.. The change looks bad, it introduces
> more severe issues than it fixes.
>
> If you think you cannot create a proper change, let me know.
>
> --
> Best wishes,
> Vladimir
Thank you very much for your detailed review and guidance.

Now I think your point probably is: you are saying that the real leak
is not from of_phy_find_device(), but from the device node
pldat->phy_node which was obtained earlier (probably by
of_parse_phandle()) and never freed by of_node_put(). And you suggest
to add of_node_put(pldat->phy_node) instead of my wrong
phy_device_free().

However, I am still a little confused. In lpc_mii_probe(),
of_phy_find_device() is called. From my understanding, this function
increases the reference count of the device. To balance it, I thought
phy_device_free() (which calls put_device()) should be used.

Could you please kindly advise the correct patch? I will follow your
guidance and submit a proper fix.

I apologize again for my previous wrong patch. Thank you very much for
your help.

Best regards,
Ma Ke