# CVE-2025-71157: RDMA/core: always drop device refcount in ib_del_sub_device_and_put()

> A missing reference count drop in the Linux kernel RDMA subsystem can lead to a null pointer dereference and system crash.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 23 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-71157, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-71157, GHSA-x8q5-wjrh-hhx7, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-71157, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-71157

## What is CVE-2025-71157?

CVE-2025-71157 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 23 Jan 2026. 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:

RDMA/core: always drop device refcount in ib_del_sub_device_and_put()

Since nldev_deldev() (introduced by commit 060c642b2ab8 ("RDMA/nldev: Add
support to add/delete a sub IB device through netlink") grabs a reference
using ib_device_get_by_index() before calling ib_del_sub_device_and_put(),
we need to drop that reference before returning -EOPNOTSUPP error.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-71157?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-71157?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-71157 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71157 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-2025-71157 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-71157 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 23 Jan 2026. 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-2025-71157 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-2025-71157/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71157/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71157
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71157
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-71157

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71157/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.