CVE-2025-21981: Linux kernel · ice: fix memory leak in aRFS after reset
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 01:26 UTC
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 1 Apr 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
No vendor advisory or patch links are provided in the input data. Until a fix is applied, monitoring for memory leaks related to the ice driver and avoiding unnecessary resets of the VSI may reduce risk.
Description
CVE-2025-21981 is a medium severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ice driver related to a memory leak in the accelerated Receive Flow Steering (aRFS) feature after a reset. The issue occurs because memory allocated during VSI reconfiguration on reset is not properly released, leading to unreferenced memory objects. This flaw does not impact confidentiality or integrity but can cause availability issues due to memory exhaustion.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21981 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/23d97f18901ef5e4e264e3b1777fe65c760186b5 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b27e6e10a32589fcd293b8933ab6de9387a460e (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d30d256661fc11b6e73fac6c3783a702e1006a3 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/78f3d64b30210c0e521c59357431aca14024cb79 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6902101f34f098af59b0d1d8cf90c4124c02c6a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef2bc94059836a115430a6ad9d2838b0b34dc8f5 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/fcbacc47d16306c87ad1b820b7a575f6e9eae58b (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html (opens in a new tab)