Service interruption via leaked RDMA device references
Published Jan 23, 2026 · Updated Jan 23, 2026
Resource leak in Linux kernel RDMA/core 6.11 through 6.12.63 and 6.13 through 6.18.3 allows local users to retain device references. The ib_del_sub_device_and_put() error path returns EOPNOTSUPP without releasing the reference that nldev_deldev() acquired through ib_device_get_by_index(). A local low-privileged user must reach the RDMA netlink sub-device deletion path; repeated failures retain resources, prevent device cleanup, and interrupt service.
Summary
What happened
Resource leak in Linux kernel RDMA/core 6.11 through 6.12.63 and 6.13 through 6.18.3 allows local users to retain device references. The ib_del_sub_device_and_put() error path returns EOPNOTSUPP without releasing the reference that nldev_deldev() acquired through ib_device_get_by_index(). A local low-privileged user must reach the RDMA netlink sub-device deletion path; repeated failures retain resources, prevent device cleanup, and interrupt service.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-71157
- Published
- Jan 23, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 23, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=6.11
- Affected versionversion=bca51197620a257e2954be99b16f05115c3b2630 <20436f2742a92b7afeb2504eb559a98d2196b001
- Affected versionversion=bca51197620a257e2954be99b16f05115c3b2630 <fa3c411d21ebc26ffd175c7256c37cefa35020aa
- Affected versionversion=bca51197620a257e2954be99b16f05115c3b2630 <fe8d456080423b9ed410469fbd1e2098d3acce2b
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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