Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Intel i40e network driver could allow a local attacker to cause a system crash or potentially gain unauthorized access to system resources. The issue stems from how the driver manages Virtual Functions (VFs), which are used to share a single physical network connection among multiple virtual environments. An exploit could lead to a complete compromise of the host system's availability and data integrity.
Technical details
A vulnerability was identified in the i40e network driver within the Linux kernel's Virtual Function (VF) management logic. The driver incorrectly relied on the I40E_VF_STATE_ACTIVE flag to determine if a VF was permitted to obtain resources, failing to account for other valid active states. This logic error is resolved by introducing and checking the I40E_VF_STATE_RESOURCES_LOADED flag in i40e_vc_get_vf_resources_msg() and ensuring it is cleared during resets. A local attacker with low privileges could exploit this state inconsistency to trigger kernel-level errors or bypass resource isolation boundaries. Patches have been released across multiple stable kernel branches.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel 5.4.165 to 5.4.300, 5.10.85 to 5.10.245, 5.15.8 to 5.15.194, 5.16 and later
Timeline
- 2025-09-29: other: Patch authored
- 2025-10-15: advisory: CVE published
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/185745d56ec958bf8aa773828213237dfcc32f5a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6128bbc7adc25c87c2f64b5eb66a280b78ef7ab7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c3981fd59ef11a75005ac9978f034da5a168b6a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/877b7e6ffc23766448236e8732254534c518ba42
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e35c80f8570426fe0f0cc92b151ebd835975f22
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a991dc56d3e9a2c3db87d0c3f03c24f6595400f1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e748f1ee493f88e38b77363a60499f979d42c58a