bus: mhi: host: Detect events pointing to unexpected TREs
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-415 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bus: mhi: host: Detect events pointing to unexpected TREs When a remote device sends a completion event to the host, it contains a pointer to the consumed TRE. The host uses this pointer to process all of the TREs between it and the host's local copy of the ring's read pointer. This works when processing completion for chained transactions, but can lead to nasty results if the device sends an event for a single-element transaction with a read pointer that is multiple elements ahead of the host's read pointer. For instance, if the host accesses an event ring while the device is updating it, the pointer inside of the event might still point to an old TRE. If the host uses the channel's xfer_cb() to directly free the buffer pointed to by the TRE, the buffer will be double-freed. This behavior was observed on an ep that used upstream EP stack without 'commit 6f18d174b73d ("bus: mhi: ep: Update read pointer only after buffer is written")'. Where the device updated the events ring pointer before updating the event contents, so it left a window where the host was able to access the stale data the event pointed to, before the device had the chance to update them. The usual pattern was that the host received an event pointing to a TRE that is not immediately after the last processed one, so it got treated as if it was a chained transaction, processing all of the TREs in between the two read pointers. This commit aims to harden the host by ensuring transactions where the event points to a TRE that isn't local_rp + 1 are chained. [mani: added stable tag and reworded commit message]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.7 and later | 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.44, 6.16.4, 6.17 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.44, 6.16.4, 6.17 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.44, 6.16.4, 6.17
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-39790
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q63v-r8x9-2c5r
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b3f0e3b60c27f4fcb69927d84987e5fd6240530
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4079c6c59705b96285219b9efc63cab870d757b7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e17429679a8545afe438ce7a82a13a54e8ceabb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ec99b922f4661521927eeada76f431eebfbabc4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44e1a079e18f78d6594a715b0c6d7e18c656f7b9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5bd398e20f0833ae8a1267d4f343591a2dd20185
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- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-39790 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-39790 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q63v-r8x9-2c5r · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-39790 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences