Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-71232

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.251 / 5.15.201 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: qla2xxx: Free sp in error path to fix system crash System crash seen during load/unload test in a loop, [61110.449331] qla2xxx [0000:27:00.0]-0042:0: Disabled MSI-X. [61110.467494] ============================================================================= [61110.467498] BUG qla2xxx_srbs (Tainted: G OE -------- --- ): Objects remaining in qla2xxx_srbs on __kmem_cache_shutdown() [61110.467501] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [61110.467502] Slab 0x000000000ffc8162 objects=51 used=1 fp=0x00000000e25d3d85 flags=0x57ffffc0010200(slab|head|node=1|zone=2|lastcpupid=0x1fffff) [61110.467509] CPU: 53 PID: 455206 Comm: rmmod Kdump: loaded Tainted: G OE -------- --- 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2.x86_64 #1 [61110.467513] Hardware name: HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen10 Plus v2/ProLiant DL385 Gen10 Plus v2, BIOS A42 08/17/2023 [61110.467515] Call Trace: [61110.467516] <TASK> [61110.467519] dump_stack_lvl+0x34/0x48 [61110.467526] slab_err.cold+0x53/0x67 [61110.467534] __kmem_cache_shutdown+0x16e/0x320 [61110.467540] kmem_cache_destroy+0x51/0x160 [61110.467544] qla2x00_module_exit+0x93/0x99 [qla2xxx] [61110.467607] ? __do_sys_delete_module.constprop.0+0x178/0x280 [61110.467613] ? syscall_trace_enter.constprop.0+0x145/0x1d0 [61110.467616] ? do_syscall_64+0x5c/0x90 [61110.467619] ? exc_page_fault+0x62/0x150 [61110.467622] ? entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd [61110.467626] </TASK> [61110.467627] Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint [61110.467635] Object 0x0000000026f7e6e6 @offset=16000 [61110.467639] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [61110.467639] kmem_cache_destroy qla2xxx_srbs: Slab cache still has objects when called from qla2x00_module_exit+0x93/0x99 [qla2xxx] [61110.467659] WARNING: CPU: 53 PID: 455206 at mm/slab_common.c:520 kmem_cache_destroy+0x14d/0x160 [61110.467718] CPU: 53 PID: 455206 Comm: rmmod Kdump: loaded Tainted: G B OE -------- --- 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2.x86_64 #1 [61110.467720] Hardware name: HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen10 Plus v2/ProLiant DL385 Gen10 Plus v2, BIOS A42 08/17/2023 [61110.467721] RIP: 0010:kmem_cache_destroy+0x14d/0x160 [61110.467724] Code: 99 7d 07 00 48 89 ef e8 e1 6a 07 00 eb b3 48 8b 55 60 48 8b 4c 24 20 48 c7 c6 70 fc 66 90 48 c7 c7 f8 ef a1 90 e8 e1 ed 7c 00 <0f> 0b eb 93 c3 cc cc cc cc 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 55 48 89 [61110.467725] RSP: 0018:ffffa304e489fe80 EFLAGS: 00010282 [61110.467727] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffffffc0d9a860 RCX: 0000000000000027 [61110.467729] RDX: ffff8fd5ff9598a8 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffff8fd5ff9598a0 [61110.467730] RBP: ffff8fb6aaf78700 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000100d863b7 [61110.467731] R10: ffffa304e489fd20 R11: ffffffff913bef48 R12: 0000000040002000 [61110.467731] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 [61110.467733] FS: 00007f64c89fb740(0000) GS:ffff8fd5ff940000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [61110.467734] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [61110.467735] CR2: 00007f0f02bfe000 CR3: 00000020ad6dc005 CR4: 0000000000770ee0 [61110.467736] PKRU: 55555554 [61110.467737] Call Trace: [61110.467738] <TASK> [61110.467739] qla2x00_module_exit+0x93/0x99 [qla2xxx] [61110.467755] ? __do_sys_delete_module.constprop.0+0x178/0x280 Free sp in the error path to fix the crash.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 4.16, < 5.10.251>= 5.11, < 5.15.201>= 5.16, < 6.1.164>= 6.2, < 6.6.125>= 6.7, < 6.12.72>= 6.13, < 6.18.11>= 6.19, < 6.19.1

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
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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.10.251 / 5.15.201 / 6.1.164 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2515.15.2016.1.164
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.6.125 (or 6.1.164, 5.15.201, or 5.10.251 depending on desired upgrade path)

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version by running `uname -r`
  2. 2. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed release: 5.10.251 or later, 5.15.201 or later, 6.1.164 or later, or 6.6.125 or later
  3. 3. For RHEL/CentOS systems, update via `yum update kernel` or `dnf update kernel`
  4. 4. For Debian/Ubuntu systems, update via `apt update && apt install linux-image-generic`
  5. 5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. 6. Verify the new kernel is running with `uname -r` and confirm the version is at or above the fixed release for your branch
Caveat Kernel upgrades require system reboot and may require driver reconfiguration; test in staging first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-71232 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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