CVE-2025-71163

Service interruption via leaked IDXD references

Published Jan 25, 2026 · Updated Jan 25, 2026

A device-reference leak in the Linux Kernel IDXD driver allows local users to exhaust kernel resources through compat sysfs operations. The bind_store and unbind_store handlers call bus_find_device_by_name() but fail to balance the acquired reference with put_device() on success and error paths. Local users must be able to invoke the IDXD compat bind or unbind attribute; repeated writes retain references until resource exhaustion interrupts service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A device-reference leak in the Linux Kernel IDXD driver allows local users to exhaust kernel resources through compat sysfs operations. The bind_store and unbind_store handlers call bus_find_device_by_name() but fail to balance the acquired reference with put_device() on success and error paths. Local users must be able to invoke the IDXD compat bind or unbind attribute; repeated writes retain references until resource exhaustion interrupts service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-71163
Published
Jan 25, 2026
Updated
Jan 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.15
  2. Affected versionversion=6e7f3ee97bbe2c7d7a53b7dbd7a08a579e03c8c9 <0c97ff108f825a70c3bb29d65ddf0a013d231bb9
  3. Affected versionversion=6e7f3ee97bbe2c7d7a53b7dbd7a08a579e03c8c9 <799900f01792cf8b525a44764f065f83fcafd468
  4. Affected versionversion=6e7f3ee97bbe2c7d7a53b7dbd7a08a579e03c8c9 <a7226fd61def74b60dd8e47ec84cabafc39d575b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=5.15; version=6e7f3ee97bbe2c7d7a53b7dbd7a08a579e03c8c9 <0c97ff108f825a70c3bb29d65ddf0a013d231bb9; version=6e7f3ee97bbe2c7d7a53b7dbd7a08a579e03c8c9 <799900f01792cf8b525a44764f065f83fcafd468; version=6e7f3ee97bbe2c7d7a53b7dbd7a08a579e03c8c9 <a7226fd61def74b60dd8e47ec84cabafc39d575b

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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