static int try_smi_init(struct smi_info *new_smi)
{
	int rv = 0;
	int i;
	char *init_name = NULL;

	pr_info("Trying %s-specified %s state machine at %s address 0x%lx, slave address 0x%x, irq %d\n",
		ipmi_addr_src_to_str(new_smi->io.addr_source),
		si_to_str[new_smi->io.si_type],
		addr_space_to_str[new_smi->io.addr_type],
		new_smi->io.addr_data,
		new_smi->io.slave_addr, new_smi->io.irq);

	switch (new_smi->io.si_type) {
	case SI_KCS:
		new_smi->handlers = &kcs_smi_handlers;
		break;

	case SI_SMIC:
		new_smi->handlers = &smic_smi_handlers;
		break;

	case SI_BT:
		new_smi->handlers = &bt_smi_handlers;
		break;

	default:
		/* No support for anything else yet. */
		rv = -EIO;
		goto out_err;
	}

	new_smi->si_num = smi_num;

	/* Do this early so it's available for logs. */
	if (!new_smi->io.dev) {
		init_name = kasprintf(GFP_KERNEL, "ipmi_si.%d",
				      new_smi->si_num);

		/*
		 * If we don't already have a device from something
		 * else (like PCI), then register a new one.
		 */
		new_smi->pdev = platform_device_alloc("ipmi_si",
						      new_smi->si_num);
		if (!new_smi->pdev) {
			pr_err("Unable to allocate platform device\n");
			rv = -ENOMEM;
			goto out_err;
		}
		new_smi->io.dev = &new_smi->pdev->dev;
		new_smi->io.dev->driver = &ipmi_platform_driver.driver;
		/* Nulled by device_add() */
		new_smi->io.dev->init_name = init_name;
	}

	/* Allocate the state machine's data and initialize it. */
	new_smi->si_sm = kmalloc(new_smi->handlers->size(), GFP_KERNEL);
	if (!new_smi->si_sm) {
		rv = -ENOMEM;
		goto out_err;
	}
	new_smi->io.io_size = new_smi->handlers->init_data(new_smi->si_sm,
							   &new_smi->io);

	/* Now that we know the I/O size, we can set up the I/O. */
	rv = new_smi->io.io_setup(&new_smi->io);
	if (rv) {
		dev_err(new_smi->io.dev, "Could not set up I/O space\n");
		goto out_err;
	}

	/* Do low-level detection first. */
	if (new_smi->handlers->detect(new_smi->si_sm)) {
		if (new_smi->io.addr_source)
			dev_err(new_smi->io.dev,
				"Interface detection failed\n");
		rv = -ENODEV;
		goto out_err;
	}

	/*
	 * Attempt a get device id command.  If it fails, we probably
	 * don't have a BMC here.
	 */
	rv = try_get_dev_id(new_smi);
	if (rv) {
		if (new_smi->io.addr_source)
			dev_err(new_smi->io.dev,
			       "There appears to be no BMC at this location\n");
		goto out_err;
	}

	setup_oem_data_handler(new_smi);
	setup_xaction_handlers(new_smi);
	check_for_broken_irqs(new_smi);

	new_smi->waiting_msg = NULL;
	new_smi->curr_msg = NULL;
	atomic_set(&new_smi->req_events, 0);
	new_smi->run_to_completion = false;
	for (i = 0; i < SI_NUM_STATS; i++)
		atomic_set(&new_smi->stats[i], 0);

	new_smi->interrupt_disabled = true;
	atomic_set(&new_smi->need_watch, 0);

	rv = try_enable_event_buffer(new_smi);
	if (rv == 0)
		new_smi->has_event_buffer = true;

	/*
	 * Start clearing the flags before we enable interrupts or the
	 * timer to avoid racing with the timer.
	 */
	start_clear_flags(new_smi);

	/*
	 * IRQ is defined to be set when non-zero.  req_events will
	 * cause a global flags check that will enable interrupts.
	 */
	if (new_smi->io.irq) {
		new_smi->interrupt_disabled = false;
		atomic_set(&new_smi->req_events, 1);
	}

	if (new_smi->pdev && !new_smi->pdev_registered) {
		rv = platform_device_add(new_smi->pdev);
		if (rv) {
			dev_err(new_smi->io.dev,
				"Unable to register system interface device: %d\n",
				rv);
			goto out_err;
		}
		new_smi->pdev_registered = true;
	}

	dev_set_drvdata(new_smi->io.dev, new_smi);
	rv = device_add_group(new_smi->io.dev, &ipmi_si_dev_attr_group);
	if (rv) {
		dev_err(new_smi->io.dev,
			"Unable to add device attributes: error %d\n",
			rv);
		goto out_err;
	}
	new_smi->dev_group_added = true;

	rv = ipmi_register_smi(&handlers,
			       new_smi,
			       new_smi->io.dev,
			       new_smi->io.slave_addr);
	if (rv) {
		dev_err(new_smi->io.dev,
			"Unable to register device: error %d\n",
			rv);
		goto out_err;
	}

	/* Don't increment till we know we have succeeded. */
	smi_num++;

	dev_info(new_smi->io.dev, "IPMI %s interface initialized\n",
		 si_to_str[new_smi->io.si_type]);

 	WARN_ON(new_smi->io.dev->init_name != NULL);
 
  out_err:
	if (rv && new_smi->io.io_cleanup) {
		new_smi->io.io_cleanup(&new_smi->io);
		new_smi->io.io_cleanup = NULL;
	}

 	kfree(init_name);
 	return rv;
 }

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.