CVE-2025-38619
📋 TL;DR
A race condition in the Texas Instruments J721E CSI-2 receiver driver in the Linux kernel causes list corruption when DMA buffer handling fails, leading to kernel panic and system crash. This affects systems using the TI J721E platform with the affected kernel driver. The vulnerability requires local access to trigger.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with TI J721E CSI-2 receiver driver
📦 What is this software?
Linux Kernel by Linux
The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...
Learn more about Linux Kernel →Linux Kernel by Linux
The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...
Learn more about Linux Kernel →Linux Kernel by Linux
The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...
Learn more about Linux Kernel →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Kernel panic leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially causing data loss or service disruption.
Likely Case
System crash requiring reboot when the specific DMA failure condition occurs during media capture operations.
If Mitigated
No impact if the vulnerable driver is not loaded or the specific hardware is not present.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires triggering specific DMA failure conditions in the CSI-2 receiver driver, which may require specialized hardware access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 68e5579f4de12207b23c41b44a4c0778b6c2858f, 92d0188f36ca8082af7989d743eb5b44c2d259f7, a4a8cb0889927d59ebd839458c8f038bc5298ef9, or ae42c6fe531425ef2f47e82f96851427d24bbf6b
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/68e5579f4de12207b23c41b44a4c0778b6c2858f
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update to a kernel version containing the fix commits. 2. For custom kernels, apply the patch from the git repository. 3. Rebuild and install the kernel if compiling from source.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable driver
LinuxPrevent loading of the ti-csi2rx driver if not needed
echo 'blacklist j721e-csi2rx' > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ti-csi2rx.conf
update-initramfs -u
reboot
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict access to users who can interact with the CSI-2 hardware interface
- Monitor system logs for kernel panic events related to list_del corruption
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if the ti-csi2rx module is loaded: lsmod | grep csi2rxCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Check kernel version includes fix commits: grep -r 'ti_csi2rx_dma_callback' /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/source/drivers/media/platform/ti/📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel messages containing 'list_del corruption', 'ti_csi2rx', or 'Failed to queue the next buffer for DMA'
Network Indicators:
- None - local vulnerability only
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("list_del corruption" OR "ti_csi2rx" OR "Failed to queue the next buffer for DMA")