In the Linux kernel, the ice network driver omits a required xa_destroy call for the sched_node_ids xarray. Because xarrays allocate internal memory, this omission causes a memory leak whenever the driver is de‑initialized. Repeated unloads and reloads of the driver, such as during devlink reload or DDP updates, can progressively consume kernel memory, potentially degrading performance or leading to a kernel‑level denial of service.

All Linux kernel implementations that compile the ice driver with the buggy code before commit 16dfa494 are impacted. The affected code lives in the port_info structure of the ice driver; therefore any system using that driver without the patch inherits the flaw.

The CVSS base score of 5.5 indicates moderate severity. The EPSS score of less than 1% suggests a low probability of exploitation in the wild, and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. Based on the description, the likely attack vector is a local or privileged user who can unload and reload the ice driver—either manually or through a configuration change—because the leak only occurs during de‑initialization. Remote exploitation is unlikely because the attacker must control kernel module loading and unloading, which typically requires privileged access.