The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 7 letter word SHORT CIRCUIT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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More clues leading to the result SHORT CIRCUIT
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Current malfunction" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case current malfunction = short circuit.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SHORT CIRCUIT mean?
SHORT CIRCUIT verb- To cause a short circuit in
- (by extension) to force termination of an ongoing process before its natural conclusion by bypassing one or more intermediary steps
- To terminate a loop before the declared termination condition is met or a conditional before all conditions have been tested for