CVE-2025-39948
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix Rx page leak on multi-buffer frames The ice_put_rx_mbuf() function handles calling ice_put_rx_buf() for each buffer in the current frame. This function was introduced as part of handling multi-buffer XDP support in the ice driver. It works by iterating over the buffers from first_desc up to 1 plus the total number of fragments in the frame, cached from before the XDP program was executed. If the hardware posts a descriptor with a size of 0, the logic used in ice_put_rx_mbuf() breaks. Such descriptors get skipped and don't get added as fragments in ice_add_xdp_frag. Since the buffer isn't counted as a fragment, we do not iterate over it in ice_put_rx_mbuf(), and thus we don't call ice_put_rx_buf(). Because we don't call ice_put_rx_buf(), we don't attempt to re-use the page or free it. This leaves a stale page in the ring, as we don't increment next_to_alloc. The ice_reuse_rx_page() assumes that the next_to_alloc has been incremented properly, and that it always points to a buffer with a NULL page. Since this function doesn't check, it will happily recycle a page over the top of the next_to_alloc buffer, losing track of the old page. Note that this leak only occurs for multi-buffer frames. The ice_put_rx_mbuf() function always handles at least one buffer, so a single-buffer frame will always get handled correctly. It is not clear precisely why the hardware hands us descriptors with a size of 0 sometimes, but it happens somewhat regularly with "jumbo frames" used by 9K MTU. To fix ice_put_rx_mbuf(), we need to make sure to call ice_put_rx_buf() on all buffers between first_desc and next_to_clean. Borrow the logic of a similar function in i40e used for this same purpose. Use the same logic also in ice_get_pgcnts(). Instead of iterating over just the number of fragments, use a loop which iterates until the current index reaches to the next_to_clean element just past the current frame. Unlike i40e, the ice_put_rx_mbuf() function does call ice_put_rx_buf() on the last buffer of the frame indicating the end of packet. For non-linear (multi-buffer) frames, we need to take care when adjusting the pagecnt_bias. An XDP program might release fragments from the tail of the frame, in which case that fragment page is already released. Only update the pagecnt_bias for the first descriptor and fragments still remaining post-XDP program. Take care to only access the shared info for fragmented buffers, as this avoids a significant cache miss. The xdp_xmit value only needs to be updated if an XDP program is run, and only once per packet. Drop the xdp_xmit pointer argument from ice_put_rx_mbuf(). Instead, set xdp_xmit in the ice_clean_rx_irq() function directly. This avoids needing to pass the argument and avoids an extra bit-wise OR for each buffer in the frame. Move the increment of the ntc local variable to ensure its updated *before* all calls to ice_get_pgcnts() or ice_put_rx_mbuf(), as the loop logic requires the index of the element just after the current frame. Now that we use an index pointer in the ring to identify the packet, we no longer need to track or cache the number of fragments in the rx_ring.
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 analysisAllocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.
General guidance for the memory leak class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 6.6.78, < 6.7>= 6.12.14, < 6.12.49>= 6.13.3, < 6.14>= 6.14.1, < 6.16.9= 6.14= 6.17CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 · scoped6.76.12.496.14
Linux kernel 6.7, 6.12.49, 6.14, or 6.16.9 (depending on which branch you are upgrading from)
- Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
- Determine the appropriate upgrade target based on your current kernel branch: For 6.6.x -> upgrade to 6.7 or later; For 6.12.x -> upgrade to 6.12.49 or later; For 6.13.x -> upgrade to 6.14 or later; For 6.14.x -> upgrade to 6.16.9 or later
- Upgrade the Linux kernel package via your distribution's package manager (e.g., 'apt-get dist-upgrade', 'yum update', or 'dnf upgrade')
- Reboot the system to load the new kernel
- Verify the new kernel version is running with 'uname -r' and confirm it is a fixed version
- If using the ice network driver, verify the driver is loaded with 'modprobe ice' and check 'ip link show' for the network interface
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-39948 — 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-2025-39948 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
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