CVE-2025-40091
Description
From CVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ixgbe: fix too early devlink_free() in ixgbe_remove() Since ixgbe_adapter is embedded in devlink, calling devlink_free() prematurely in the ixgbe_remove() path can lead to UAF. Move devlink_free() to the end. KASAN report: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ixgbe_reset_interrupt_capability+0x140/0x180 [ixgbe] Read of size 8 at addr ffff0000adf813e0 by task bash/2095 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 2095 Comm: bash Tainted: G S 6.17.0-rc2-tnguy.net-queue+ #1 PREEMPT(full) [...] Call trace: show_stack+0x30/0x90 (C) dump_stack_lvl+0x9c/0xd0 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x90/0x310 print_report+0x104/0x1f0 kasan_report+0x88/0x180 __asan_report_load8_noabort+0x20/0x30 ixgbe_reset_interrupt_capability+0x140/0x180 [ixgbe] ixgbe_clear_interrupt_scheme+0xf8/0x130 [ixgbe] ixgbe_remove+0x2d0/0x8c0 [ixgbe] pci_device_remove+0xa0/0x220 device_remove+0xb8/0x170 device_release_driver_internal+0x318/0x490 device_driver_detach+0x40/0x68 unbind_store+0xec/0x118 drv_attr_store+0x64/0xb8 sysfs_kf_write+0xcc/0x138 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x294/0x440 new_sync_write+0x1fc/0x588 vfs_write+0x480/0x6a0 ksys_write+0xf0/0x1e0 __arm64_sys_write+0x70/0xc0 invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0xcc/0x280 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xa8/0x248 do_el0_svc+0x44/0x68 el0_svc+0x54/0x160 el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa0/0xe8 el0t_64_sync+0x1b0/0x1b8
Statement
The driver called devlink_free() too early during device removal, while other parts of the adapter still accessed the embedded devlink object. This caused a use-after-free crash on device unbind operations (e.g. via sysfs). The fix defers devlink_free() until the very end of ixgbe_remove(), after all cleanup steps have completed. Affects local environments only. Can be triggered by privileged users performing PCI hot-remove or module reload operations. For the CVSS the privilege justification is PR:H, because Triggering the vulnerable ixgbe_remove() path requires administrative privileges (e.g., CAP_SYS_ADMIN) to unbind or unload the network driver (rmmod ixgbe or writing to /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ixgbe/unbind), which is not permitted for unprivileged users by default.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.4 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
The use of previously freed memory may corrupt valid data, if the memory area in question has been allocated and used properly elsewhere.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If chunk consolidation occurs after the use of previously freed data, the process may crash when invalid data is used as chunk information.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
Read operations on freed memory can sometimes leak sensitive information instead of causing a crash
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If malicious data is entered before chunk consolidation can take place, it may be possible to take advantage of a write-what-where primitive to execute arbitrary code. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.
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