Introduction
Privilege escalation on enterprise Linux servers can enable lateral movement, persistence, and full compromise of critical infrastructure. Intel 700 Series Ethernet controllers are widely deployed in data centers and cloud environments, so a flaw in their kernel driver matters to any organization that depends on them for high-throughput networking.
Technical Information
CVE-2025-25273 is a control flow management flaw in the i40e driver, the Linux kernel-mode driver for Intel 700 Series Ethernet controllers. It is classified under CWE-691 (Insufficient Control Flow Management). An authenticated local user can exploit it to escalate privileges by manipulating execution paths within the driver. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), and the vector rates the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability as high if the flaw is exploited.
The root cause is improper validation and management of control flow in the i40e driver's kernel code. This can let a local attacker subvert normal execution and bypass the privilege boundaries the operating system enforces. The flaw is not remotely exploitable and requires authenticated local access. Successful exploitation could still lead to full system compromise, because kernel-mode drivers run with elevated privileges.
No public code snippets or detailed proof-of-concept information are available at the time of writing.
Patch Information
Intel has released version 2.28.5 of the Intel 700 Series Ethernet driver for Linux to fix the vulnerabilities in its advisory. The update addresses three classes of issue:
- Improper input validation: the driver now validates input more strictly, to prevent possible escalation of privilege.
- Control flow management: changes to how the driver manages control flow reduce the risk of privilege escalation.
- Resource consumption: fixes for uncontrolled resource consumption reduce the risk of denial-of-service attacks.
Users should update to version 2.28.5 to protect their systems against these vulnerabilities.
Reference: Intel Security Advisory INTEL-SA-01335
Affected Systems and Versions
- Intel 700 Series Ethernet Linux kernel-mode drivers prior to version 2.28.5
- All platforms using the i40e driver for Intel 700 Series Ethernet controllers
- Any system running a driver version lower than 2.28.5
Vendor Security History
Intel has fixed similar vulnerabilities in its kernel-mode drivers before, in advisories INTEL-SA-00255 and INTEL-SA-01293. The company usually publishes coordinated advisories that cover several related issues, and it ships patches promptly. Intel's vulnerability management process is considered mature, with an emphasis on thorough remediation and clear communication.
