# CVE-2025-68741: scsi: qla2xxx: Fix improper freeing of purex item

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's qla2xxx SCSI driver allows attackers to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-73069, BELL-CVE-2025-68741, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68741, GHSA-mjw3-rr6r-w9h2, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-68741, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-68741

## What is CVE-2025-68741?

CVE-2025-68741 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

scsi: qla2xxx: Fix improper freeing of purex item

In qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb(), an item is allocated via
qla27xx_copy_multiple_pkt(), which internally calls
qla24xx_alloc_purex_item().

The qla24xx_alloc_purex_item() function may return a pre-allocated item
from a per-adapter pool for small allocations, instead of dynamically
allocating memory with kzalloc().

An error handling path in qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb() incorrectly uses
kfree() to release the item. If the item was from the pre-allocated
pool, calling kfree() on it is a bug that can lead to memory corruption.

Fix this by using the correct deallocation function,
qla24xx_free_purex_item(), which properly handles both dynamically
allocated and pre-allocated items.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-68741?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-68741?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-68741 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68741 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-68741 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-68741 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68741 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2025-68741/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68741/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-68741
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68741
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-68741

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68741/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.