The kernel idxd driver contains a flaw that causes a memory leak during device removal. When a device is removed, the driver performs a reset that clears all configuration registers to zero. Because the driver checks whether the event‑log support was enabled before freeing the corresponding memory, the reset can occur early, leaving idxd->evl uninitialized. As a result, the driver skips deallocation and leaks memory allocated for the event log. The leak manifests in kernel space and can gradually consume kernel memory over repeated removal cycles. The vulnerability is classified with a CVSS score of 5.5, indicating a medium severity impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

This flaw impacts all Linux kernel builds that ship with the idxd driver prior to the fix commit, regardless of distribution. Systems running unpatched kernels with the idxd driver are vulnerable. No specific version ranges are provided, so assume all kernels lacking the patch are affected.

The EPSS score of less than 1% suggests that publicly known exploitation attempts are extremely rare, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. It is inferred that exploitation would require local privileged execution or a compromised kernel to influence device removal timing. An attacker who can repeatedly trigger device removal could drain kernel memory, potentially causing a denial‑of‑service scenario. Despite the low exploitation probability, the medium CVSS score and the internal nature of the attack vector warrant monitoring and prompt patching.