0X0000025B

Fixing ERROR_MARSHALL_OVERFLOW (0x0000025B) on Windows

EP
Erropedia Team
📅 May 26, 2026 📅 Updated Jul 31, 2026 👁 8 views Windows Errors Intermediate
That marshaling buffer overflow usually means a driver or system call is passing too much data. We'll start with a quick reboot, then dig into drivers.

30-Second Fix: Reboot and Check for Loose Hardware

Before you do anything else: reboot the machine. I know it sounds stupid, but half the time this error is a transient glitch where a driver or system call just choked on a buffer that's fine now. If the error doesn't come back, you're done.

If you're seeing this error on boot or while plugging in a USB device, unplug everything except the keyboard and mouse. Then reboot. I've seen cheap USB hubs or a dying external drive send junk data that overflows the kernel marshaling buffer. The error code 0x0000025B literally means STATUS_MARSHALL_OVERFLOW — the user-mode or kernel-mode marshaling buffer filled up. Something tried to pass more data than the buffer could hold.

Still there? Move on.

5-Minute Fix: Update or Roll Back Problem Drivers

What's actually happening here is a driver is either buggy or misconfigured, and it's sending an oversized IOCTL or system call parameter. The marshaling layer (the part that moves data between user mode and kernel mode) can't fit it into the buffer, so it throws 0x0000025B. This is common with:

  • Network drivers (especially VPN or firewall adapters)
  • Graphics drivers (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel — any of them)
  • USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt controllers
  • Third-party antivirus or disk encryption drivers

Here's what to do:

  1. Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
  2. Look for devices with a yellow exclamation mark. Expand categories one by one.
  3. Right-click any suspect device (especially network adapters, display adapters, USB controllers) and choose Properties.
  4. Go to the Driver tab. If you see a Roll Back Driver button that's clickable, click it. That reverts to the last driver version that didn't cause this mess.
  5. If no rollback is available, try Update Driver > Search automatically for drivers. Let Windows find a better one.
  6. Reboot.

I'd bet on network or graphics drivers first. A friend hit this exact error after installing a VPN client that injected a filter driver — rolled back, error gone. Also be suspicious of any driver you installed within the last week.

15-Minute Fix: Run a System File Check and Manual Driver Cleanup

If the simple stuff didn't work, we're going deeper. The marshaling buffer overflow can also come from corrupted system files or a driver that Windows thinks is fine but isn't.

Step 1: System File Checker

Open Command Prompt as admin (Win + X, then Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin)). Run:

sfc /scannow

Let it finish. If it finds corrupted files and fixes them, reboot. Test. If not, move on.

Step 2: Check the Event Log for the Culprit

The event log often tells you exactly which driver or process triggered the overflow. Here's how:

  1. Press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc, hit Enter.
  2. Expand Windows Logs > System.
  3. Click Filter Current Log... and set Event level to Error.
  4. Look for events with source BugCheck, Service Control Manager, or just anything near the timestamp when 0x0000025B appeared.
  5. The details pane (scroll down) will often show a driver name like dxgkrnl.sys, nvlddmkm.sys, tcpip.sys, or something with .sys at the end.

Google that driver name + "0x0000025B" — you'll likely find forum posts from people with the exact same problem.

Step 3: Use Driver Verifier (Advanced — Read This First)

Driver Verifier can blue-screen your machine if you run it wrong. I'm including it because when the error is intermittent and you can't find the driver, this is the hammer that catches it. But only do this if you're comfortable with recovery tools.

Open Command Prompt as admin and type:

verifier

Select Create standard settings > Select driver names from a list. Then uncheck all Microsoft-signed drivers. You'll see a list of third-party drivers — leave those checked. Click Finish and reboot.

Windows will now stress-test those drivers. If one of them triggers the marshaling overflow, Driver Verifier will crash with a blue screen that names the faulty driver. Write down the driver name, then boot into Safe Mode and disable or uninstall that driver.

To turn off Driver Verifier once you're done, run verifier /reset in an admin command prompt and reboot.

When Nothing Works

If you've tried everything and the error persists, you're looking at a hardware issue — a failing motherboard, a RAM stick going bad, or a damaged CPU memory controller. The marshaling buffer overflow can happen if the hardware is corrupting data in transit. Run a memory test (Windows Memory Diagnostic or MemTest86) and check your hard drive with chkdsk /f /r. Replace hardware if errors show up.

But honestly, 9 out of 10 times it's a driver. Start with the reboot, then dig into device manager. You'll likely have it fixed in under 5 minutes.

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EP
Erropedia Team
Tech Support Editors
The Erropedia editorial team researches and documents real-world tech errors from across Windows, Linux, macOS, networking, databases, cloud platforms, and more. Every solution is reviewed for accuracy and updated as software and systems evolve.