CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-71071NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-71071 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 896ec55da3b90bdb9fc04fedc17ad8c359b2eee5, 5c04217d06a1161aaf36267e9d971ab6f847d5a7, 1ef70a0b104ae8011811f60bcfaa55ff49385171 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.15% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 896ec55da3b90bdb9fc04fedc17ad8c359b2eee5 or 5c04217d06a1161aaf36267e9d971ab6f847d5a7 or 1ef70a0b104ae8011811f60bcfaa55ff49385171 or f6c08d3aa441bbc1956e9d65f1cbb89113a5aa8a, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.1 or 6.1.160 or 6.6.120 or 6.12.64, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux8412e5dd24ffc8bc21a00bfaa0b80d4596cdc9da up to, but not including, 896ec55da3b90bdb9fc04fedc17ad8c359b2eee5; 26593928564cf5b576ff05d3cbd958f57c9534bb up to, but not including, 5c04217d06a1161aaf36267e9d971ab6f847d5a7; 26593928564cf5b576ff05d3cbd958f57c9534bb up to, but not including, 1ef70a0b104ae8011811f60bcfaa55ff49385171; 26593928564cf5b576ff05d3cbd958f57c9534bb up to, but not including, f6c08d3aa441bbc1956e9d65f1cbb89113a5aa8a; 26593928564cf5b576ff05d3cbd958f57c9534bb up to, but not including, de83d4617f9fe059623e97acf7e1e10d209625b5; 51080de72e26771f0ed9d44982974279ccbc92b8; 6.1.2 up to, but not including, 6.1.160; 6.0.16 up to, but not including, 6.1; and 1 more ranges896ec55da3b90bdb9fc04fedc17ad8c359b2eee5, 5c04217d06a1161aaf36267e9d971ab6f847d5a7, 1ef70a0b104ae8011811f60bcfaa55ff49385171, f6c08d3aa441bbc1956e9d65f1cbb89113a5aa8a, de83d4617f9fe059623e97acf7e1e10d209625b5, 6.1.160
LinuxLinux Kernel6.0.16 up to, but not including, 6.1; 6.1.2 up to, but not including, 6.1.160; 6.2.1 up to, but not including, 6.6.120; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.64; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.3; 6.2; 6.196.1, 6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.64, 6.18.3

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/mediatek: fix use-after-free on probe deferral The driver is dropping the references taken to the larb devices during probe after successful lookup as well as on errors. This can potentially lead to a use-after-free in case a larb device has not yet been bound to its driver so that the iommu driver probe defers. Fix this by keeping the references as expected while the iommu driver is bound.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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