CVE-2025-39790: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bus: mhi: host: Detect events pointing to unexpected TREs When a remote device s...

Description

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]

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.14%

3.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-415

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.7, < 5.15.190
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.149
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.6.103
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.7, < 6.12.44
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.13, < 6.16.4
Debian	Debian Linux	11.0

References

Timeline

Published: Sep 11, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-39790?

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]

How severe is CVE-2025-39790?

CVE-2025-39790 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.14% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2025-39790?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.