Linux Kernel up to 6.12.71/6.18.10/6.19.0 crypto find_empty_iaa_compression_mode initialization

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.71/6.18.10/6.19.0. Affected is the function find_empty_iaa_compression_mode of the component crypto. This manipulation causes initialization. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2025-71231. There is no available exploit. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.71/6.18.10/6.19.0. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function find_empty_iaa_compression_mode of the component crypto. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a initialization vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-665. The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: iaa - Fix out-of-bounds index in find_empty_iaa_compression_mode The local variable 'i' is initialized with -EINVAL, but the for loop immediately overwrites it and -EINVAL is never returned. If no empty compression mode can be found, the function would return the out-of-bounds index IAA_COMP_MODES_MAX, which would cause an invalid array access in add_iaa_compression_mode(). Fix both issues by returning either a valid index or -EINVAL.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-71231 since 02/18/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 03/19/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 299444 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-71231), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.72, 6.18.11 or 6.19.1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch c77b33b58512708bd5603f48465f018c8b748847/d75207465eed20bc9b0daa4a0927de9568996067/de16f5bca05cace238d237791ed1b6e9d22dab60 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (299444) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0462). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.0
• 6.1
• 6.2
• 6.3
• 6.4
• 6.5
• 6.6
• 6.7
• 6.8
• 6.9
• 6.10
• 6.11
• 6.12
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.13
• 6.14
• 6.15
• 6.16
• 6.17
• 6.18
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.19.0

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion