CVE-2025-71287

Local memory exhaustion via leaked device references

Published May 6, 2026 · Updated May 6, 2026

Memory leak in the Linux Kernel MTK-SMI driver allows local users to exhaust memory through repeated larb probe failures. The larb probe path takes a reference while looking up the SMI device but omits the corresponding release after late probe failure and driver unbind. Reachability requires local low-privilege access and a MediaTek SMI larb device path that enters probe deferral or driver unbind; the published impact is memory exhaustion and service interruption, not data access or modification.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the Linux Kernel MTK-SMI driver allows local users to exhaust memory through repeated larb probe failures. The larb probe path takes a reference while looking up the SMI device but omits the corresponding release after late probe failure and driver unbind. Reachability requires local low-privilege access and a MediaTek SMI larb device path that enters probe deferral or driver unbind; the published impact is memory exhaustion and service interruption, not data access or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-71287
Published
May 6, 2026
Updated
May 6, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 6, 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?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=4.6
  2. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <04057b86fdac3d4847913a97dc6552c0bff9b85e
  3. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <1288bb394d464975cea18f69940f206e235e0fe7
  4. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <1f23a48ff2b8ab47e514f7c84a4b1dbf9b848168
  5. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <357e16a7fc9c1fef2ea37dce9bb6b9bcb1d1687d
  6. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <9dae65913b32d05dbc8ff4b8a6bf04a0e49a8eb6
  7. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <b9eccd59697f7e1cb9a714501d9af826e7f7e073
  8. Affected versionversion=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <f69535b77fa0518ad39870c00dd2995439ed5c34

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=4.6; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <04057b86fdac3d4847913a97dc6552c0bff9b85e; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <1288bb394d464975cea18f69940f206e235e0fe7; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <1f23a48ff2b8ab47e514f7c84a4b1dbf9b848168; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <357e16a7fc9c1fef2ea37dce9bb6b9bcb1d1687d; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <9dae65913b32d05dbc8ff4b8a6bf04a0e49a8eb6; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <b9eccd59697f7e1cb9a714501d9af826e7f7e073; version=cc8bbe1a83128ad06457e4dc69907c4f9a6fc1a7 <f69535b77fa0518ad39870c00dd2995439ed5c34

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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 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
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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