CVE-2025-31146 identifies a denial of service vulnerability in Intel Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver Pack software versions prior to 1.5.1.0. The root cause is a time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition occurring within user-space (Ring 3) applications interacting with the driver. This race condition allows an unprivileged but authenticated user to trigger a denial of service by exploiting a timing window between the validation of a resource or state and its subsequent use. The attack complexity is low, requiring active user interaction and potentially adjacent access, but no special internal knowledge is necessary. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but can cause high availability disruption by crashing or destabilizing the network adapter driver or associated services. The CVSS 4.0 score is 5.1 (medium severity), reflecting the attack vector as adjacent network (AV:A), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required beyond authenticated user (PR:L), and user interaction required (UI:A). No known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and patched in version 1.5.1.0 of the Intel Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver Pack. The vulnerability is relevant for systems using Intel Ethernet adapters, which are widely deployed in enterprise and data center environments. The TOCTOU flaw can be exploited to disrupt network connectivity or cause system instability, impacting business continuity and operational availability.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to system availability, potentially causing network outages or degraded performance due to denial of service conditions on affected Intel Ethernet adapters. Enterprises relying on Intel Ethernet hardware for critical network infrastructure, including data centers, cloud providers, and industrial control systems, may experience service interruptions impacting business operations. Although confidentiality and integrity are not affected, availability disruptions can lead to operational downtime, financial losses, and reputational damage. Organizations with extensive Intel hardware deployments and those in sectors requiring high network uptime, such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and government, are particularly vulnerable. The requirement for an authenticated user and active interaction limits remote exploitation but insider threats or compromised user accounts could leverage this vulnerability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks, especially as the vulnerability is publicly documented.

The primary mitigation is to update the Intel Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver Pack to version 1.5.1.0 or later, where the TOCTOU race condition has been addressed. Organizations should implement strict patch management policies to ensure timely deployment of this update across all affected systems. Additionally, restricting user privileges to minimize the number of authenticated users capable of interacting with the network driver reduces the attack surface. Monitoring network adapter logs and system stability metrics can help detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. Employing network segmentation to limit adjacent access and isolating critical systems can further reduce risk. Security teams should educate users about the risks of active interaction with untrusted applications that may trigger the vulnerability. Finally, integrating this vulnerability into vulnerability management and incident response workflows ensures preparedness for potential exploitation.