CVE-2025-21981: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix memory leak in aRFS after reset Fix aRFS (accelerated Receive Flow Stee...

Description

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>] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x275/0x340 [<ffffffffc0a6e06a>] ice_init_arfs+0x3a/0xe0 [ice] [<ffffffffc09f1027>] ice_vsi_cfg_def+0x607/0x850 [ice] [<ffffffffc09f244b>] ice_vsi_setup+0x5b/0x130 [ice] [<ffffffffc09c2131>] ice_init+0x1c1/0x460 [ice] [<ffffffffc09c64af>] ice_probe+0x2af/0x520 [ice] [<ffffffff994fbcd3>] local_pci_probe+0x43/0xa0 [<ffffffff98f07103>] work_for_cpu_fn+0x13/0x20 [<ffffffff98f0b6d9>] process_one_work+0x179/0x390 [<ffffffff98f0c1e9>] worker_thread+0x239/0x340 [<ffffffff98f14abc>] kthread+0xcc/0x100 [<ffffffff98e45a6d>] ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50 [<ffffffff98e083ba>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 ...

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.17%

6.6th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
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

References

Timeline

Published: Apr 1, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21981?

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>] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x275/0x340 [<ffffffffc0a6e06a>] ice_init_arfs+0x3a/0xe0 [ice] [<ffffffffc09f1027>] ice_vsi_cfg_def+0x607/0x850 [ice] [<ffffffffc09f244b>] ice_vsi_setup+0x5b/0x130 [ice] [<ffffffffc09c2131>] ice_init+0x1c1/0x460 [ice] [<ffffffffc09c64af>] ice_probe+0x2af/0x520 [ice] [<ffffffff994fbcd3>] local_pci_probe+0x43/0xa0 [<ffffffff98f07103>] work_for_cpu_fn+0x13/0x20 [<ffffffff98f0b6d9>] process_one_work+0x179/0x390 [<ffffffff98f0c1e9>] worker_thread+0x239/0x340 [<ffffffff98f14abc>] kthread+0xcc/0x100 [<ffffffff98e45a6d>] ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50 [<ffffffff98e083ba>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 ...

How severe is CVE-2025-21981?

CVE-2025-21981 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.17% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2025-21981?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.