Linux Kernel HID Appletb-Kbd Backlight Device Reference Leak Vulnerability

A reference leak vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel's HID appletb-kbd component. During the probing process, the backlight device reference is incremented when a device named 'appletb_backlight' is found. However, this reference is not properly released, leading to a memory leak. The issue has been addressed by ensuring the reference count is decremented on removal and in cases of probe failure.

Impact

The vulnerability causes a reference leak, which can lead to increased memory usage and potential exhaustion of system resources over time.