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CVE Record

CVE-2025-40165: media: nxp: imx8-isi: m2m: Fix streaming cleanup on release

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: nxp: imx8-isi: m2m: Fix streaming cleanup on release If streamon/streamoff calls are imbalanced, such as when exiting an application with Ctrl+C when streaming, the m2m usage_count will never reach zero and the ISI channel won't be freed. Besides from that, if the input line width is more than 2K, it will trigger a WARN_ON(): [ 59.222120] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 59.226758] WARNING: drivers/media/platform/nxp/imx8-isi/imx8-isi-hw.c:631 at mxc_isi_channel_chain+0xa4/0x120, CPU#4: v4l2-ctl/654 [ 59.238569] Modules linked in: ap1302 [ 59.242231] CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 654 Comm: v4l2-ctl Not tainted 6.16.0-rc4-next-20250704-06511-gff0e002d480a-dirty #258 PREEMPT [ 59.253597] Hardware name: NXP i.MX95 15X15 board (DT) [ 59.258720] pstate: 80400009 (Nzcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 59.265669] pc : mxc_isi_channel_chain+0xa4/0x120 [ 59.270358] lr : mxc_isi_channel_chain+0x44/0x120 [ 59.275047] sp : ffff8000848c3b40 [ 59.278348] x29: ffff8000848c3b40 x28: ffff0000859b4c98 x27: ffff800081939f00 [ 59.285472] x26: 000000000000000a x25: ffff0000859b4cb8 x24: 0000000000000001 [ 59.292597] x23: ffff0000816f4760 x22: ffff0000816f4258 x21: ffff000084ceb780 [ 59.299720] x20: ffff000084342ff8 x19: ffff000084340000 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 59.306845] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000ffffdb369e1c [ 59.313969] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 [ 59.321093] x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : 0000000000000000 [ 59.328217] x8 : ffff8000848c3d48 x7 : ffff800081930b30 x6 : ffff800081930b30 [ 59.335340] x5 : ffff0000859b6000 x4 : ffff80008193ae80 x3 : ffff800081022420 [ 59.342464] x2 : ffff0000852f6900 x1 : 0000000000000001 x0 : ffff000084341000 [ 59.349590] Call trace: [ 59.352025] mxc_isi_channel_chain+0xa4/0x120 (P) [ 59.356722] mxc_isi_m2m_streamon+0x160/0x20c [ 59.361072] v4l_streamon+0x24/0x30 [ 59.364556] __video_do_ioctl+0x40c/0x4a0 [ 59.368560] video_usercopy+0x2bc/0x690 [ 59.372382] video_ioctl2+0x18/0x24 [ 59.375857] v4l2_ioctl+0x40/0x60 [ 59.379168] __arm64_sys_ioctl+0xac/0x104 [ 59.383172] invoke_syscall+0x48/0x104 [ 59.386916] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xc0/0xe0 [ 59.391613] do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 [ 59.394915] el0_svc+0x34/0xf4 [ 59.397966] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa0/0xe4 [ 59.402143] el0t_64_sync+0x198/0x19c [ 59.405801] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- Address this issue by moving the streaming preparation and cleanup to the vb2 .prepare_streaming() and .unprepare_streaming() operations. This also simplifies the driver by allowing direct usage of the v4l2_m2m_ioctl_streamon() and v4l2_m2m_ioctl_streamoff() helpers.

HighCVSS 7.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A Linux media driver flaw can leave an NXP i.MX ISI channel allocated when video streaming stops unexpectedly or calls are imbalanced. This may disrupt subsequent camera or video processing; inputs wider than 2K can also trigger a kernel warning. The supplied CVSS rating is 7.8, although the description does not demonstrate the rated confidentiality or integrity impact.

Executive priority

Prioritize affected embedded, camera, industrial, or edge systems where untrusted local users or applications can access video devices. Remediation urgency is high for shared or safety-sensitive workloads, but lower for systems without NXP i.MX ISI hardware or without accessible video interfaces.

Technical view

The NXP imx8-isi memory-to-memory driver failed to balance its usage count during abnormal streaming release. Consequently, the count might never reach zero and the ISI channel remains allocated. The correction moves setup and cleanup into the videobuf2 prepare_streaming and unprepare_streaming operations, then uses standard V4L2 memory-to-memory stream helpers.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Linux systems using the NXP i.MX ISI memory-to-memory media driver and affected kernels identified by the CVE record. Practical triggering requires local, low-privileged access to the relevant video device. Confirm exact distribution kernel status because vendor backports can differ from upstream version numbering.

Exploitation context

The source bundle reports no CISA KEV listing and provides no evidence of active exploitation or a public exploit. The described trigger involves local video streaming behavior, including abnormal application exit or imbalanced stream-on and stream-off calls. Treat internet exposure alone as insufficient without access to the affected device interface.

Researcher notes

The supplied CVSS vector claims high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, while the narrative establishes a resource-cleanup failure and kernel warning only. No crash, privilege escalation, data disclosure, or corruption mechanism is documented in the bundle. Validate impact and affected version boundaries against current kernel or distribution advisories before asserting broader consequences.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply the appropriate vendor or Linux stable kernel update containing the referenced correction.
  • Prioritize NXP i.MX systems that expose the affected video device to untrusted local applications.
  • Restrict access to relevant video devices until updates are deployed.
  • Follow distribution guidance to identify backported fixes and required reboot procedures.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory NXP i.MX systems and determine whether the imx8-isi memory-to-memory driver is present and active.
  • Compare installed kernel packages against distribution advisories and the referenced stable commits.
  • Review kernel logs for imx8-isi warnings or streaming-related channel allocation failures.
  • After updating and rebooting, confirm normal video streaming and channel release using approved functional tests.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2025-40165 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Linux

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2025-40165Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxcf21f328fcafacf4f96e7a30ef9dceede1076378, cf21f328fcafacf4f96e7a30ef9dceede1076378, cf21f328fcafacf4f96e7a30ef9dceede1076378, cf21f328fcafacf4f96e7a30ef9dceede1076378unaffected
LinuxLinux6.4, 0, 6.6.114, 6.12.55, 6.17.5, 6.18affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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