CVE-2025-21086
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedImproper input validation in the Linux kernel-mode driver for some Intel(R) 700 Series Ethernet before version 2.28.5 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel-mode driver for Intel 700 Series Ethernet adapters. The improper input validation flaw allows an authenticated user to potentially escalate privileges, likely through malformed network packets or driver ioctl requests that trigger kernel-level code execution. The issue affects versions prior to 2.28.5.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Intel 700 Series Ethernet adapters presentRun 'lspci | grep -i ethernet' to list Ethernet controllers; look for Intel 700 Series (often shown as I225, I226, or similar model numbers in the 700 series)Affected if No Intel 700 Series adapter is found in the system
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Determine the kernel driver in useRun 'ethtool -i <interface>' on the Intel 700 Series interface (e.g., eth0) to identify the driver name (typically 'igc' or similar for 700 series)Affected if The driver is not the Intel 700 Series driver (the vulnerability only applies to this specific driver)
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Retrieve the driver versionRun 'modinfo <driver_name>' (e.g., 'modinfo igc') or 'ethtool -i <interface>' to obtain the driver version stringAffected if Unable to retrieve a version number - the driver may not be loaded or the interface may not exist
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Compare installed version to fixed releaseCompare the driver version from step 3 against version 2.28.5 - note that version numbers prior to 2.28.5 (such as 2.28.4, 2.28.0, 1.x.x, etc.) are affectedAffected if The installed driver version is lower than 2.28.5
A user is affected if their system has an Intel 700 Series Ethernet adapter with the Intel kernel driver loaded and the driver version is below 2.28.5.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate the Intel 700 Series Ethernet driver to version 2.28.5 or later, which requires obtaining the updated driver package from Intel and applying it during a scheduled maintenance window.
Intel 700 Series Ethernet Linux kernel-mode driver version 2.28.5 or later
- Identify the current Intel 700 Series Ethernet driver version using 'ethtool -i <interface>' or checking the installed ice driver version
- Download the updated Intel Ethernet driver version 2.28.5 or later from Intel's official support website (intel.com/support)
- Install the updated driver package following Intel's provided installation instructions, which typically involves compiling the kernel module
- Reboot the system or unload/reload the driver module to ensure the new version is loaded
- Verify the driver has been updated to version 2.28.5 or later using 'ethtool -i <interface>'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21086 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21086 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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