# CVE-2025-38417: ice: fix eswitch code memory leak in reset scenario

> A memory leak in the Intel ice driver during VF reset in legacy mode can exhaust kernel memory, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38417, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38417, GHSA-3g9v-mx9v-wmwv, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38417

## What is CVE-2025-38417?

CVE-2025-38417 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ice: fix eswitch code memory leak in reset scenario

Add simple eswitch mode checker in attaching VF procedure and allocate
required port representor memory structures only in switchdev mode.
The reset flows triggers VF (if present) detach/attach procedure.
It might involve VF port representor(s) re-creation if the device is
configured is switchdev mode (not legacy one).
The memory was blindly allocated in current implementation,
regardless of the mode and not freed if in legacy mode.

Kmemeleak trace:
unreferenced object (percpu) 0x7e3bce5b888458 (size 40):
  comm "bash", pid 1784, jiffies 4295743894
  hex dump (first 32 bytes on cpu 45):
    00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
    00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  backtrace (crc 0):
    pcpu_alloc_noprof+0x4c4/0x7c0
    ice_repr_create+0x66/0x130 [ice]
    ice_repr_create_vf+0x22/0x70 [ice]
    ice_eswitch_attach_vf+0x1b/0xa0 [ice]
    ice_reset_all_vfs+0x1dd/0x2f0 [ice]
    ice_pci_err_resume+0x3b/0xb0 [ice]
    pci_reset_function+0x8f/0x120
    reset_store+0x56/0xa0
    kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x120/0x1b0
    vfs_write+0x31c/0x430
    ksys_write+0x61/0xd0
    do_syscall_64+0x5b/0x180
    entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e

Testing hints (ethX is PF netdev):
- create at least one VF
    echo 1 > /sys/class/net/ethX/device/sriov_numvfs
- trigger the reset
    echo 1 > /sys/class/net/ethX/device/reset

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38417?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38417?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38417 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38417 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38417 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38417 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38417 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38417/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38417/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38417
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38417
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38417

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38417/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.