CVE-2025-21981: ice: fix memory leak in aRFS after reset

Published Apr 1, 2025
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ice: fix memory leak in aRFS after reset

Fix aRFS (accelerated Receive Flow Steering) structures memory leak by adding a checker to verify if aRFS memory is already allocated while configuring VSI. aRFS objects are allocated in two cases: - as part of VSI initialization (at probe), and - as part of reset handling

However, VSI reconfiguration executed during reset involves memory allocation one more time, without prior releasing already allocated resources. This led to the memory leak with the following signature:

[root@os-delivery ~]# cat /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak unreferenced object 0xff3c1ca7252e6000 (size 8192): comm "kworker/0:0", pid 8, jiffies 4296833052 hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace (crc 0): [<ffffffff991ec485>] kmalloccachenoprof+0x275/0x340 [<ffffffffc0a6e06a>] iceinitarfs+0x3a/0xe0 [ice] [<ffffffffc09f1027>] icevsicfgdef+0x607/0x850 [ice] [<ffffffffc09f244b>] icevsisetup+0x5b/0x130 [ice] [<ffffffffc09c2131>] iceinit+0x1c1/0x460 [ice] [<ffffffffc09c64af>] iceprobe+0x2af/0x520 [ice] [<ffffffff994fbcd3>] localpciprobe+0x43/0xa0 [<ffffffff98f07103>] workforcpufn+0x13/0x20 [<ffffffff98f0b6d9>] processonework+0x179/0x390 [<ffffffff98f0c1e9>] workerthread+0x239/0x340 [<ffffffff98f14abc>] kthread+0xcc/0x100 [<ffffffff98e45a6d>] retfromfork+0x2d/0x50 [<ffffffff98e083ba>] retfromforkasm+0x1a/0x30 ...

Affected Software

12 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Kernel
Linux Linux kernel>=5.8<6.1.132
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.6.84
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.12.20
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.13.8
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc2
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc3
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc4
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc5
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc6
debian/linux
6.1.176-16.1.190-16.12.107-16.12.115-27.2.12-17.2.15-1

Event History

Apr 1, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:47 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:47 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·04:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-21981?

CVE-2025-21981 is classified as a low-severity vulnerability affecting the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-21981?

To fix CVE-2025-21981, ensure that you update your Linux kernel to the latest version where the memory leak in aRFS is resolved.

3

What component of the Linux kernel is affected by CVE-2025-21981?

CVE-2025-21981 affects the aRFS (accelerated Receive Flow Steering) component of the Linux kernel.

4

Does CVE-2025-21981 cause any security risk?

CVE-2025-21981 primarily causes a memory leak which may lead to resource exhaustion, but does not directly pose a security threat.

5

What version of the Linux kernel is affected by CVE-2025-21981?

CVE-2025-21981 affects multiple versions of the Linux kernel prior to the fix being implemented.

Contact

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