Executive brief
A hardware limitation in the video processing unit (VPU) of certain Linux-based systems can cause system instability or crashes when decoding multiple video streams simultaneously. Specifically, on i.MX8MQ platforms, attempting to use both the G1 and G2 video decoders at the same time results in bus errors and corrupted video output. This could lead to a denial-of-service scenario where the entire system hangs or becomes unresponsive during media playback.
Technical details
The vulnerability stems from a hardware limitation on the i.MX8MQ platform where the G1 and G2 Video Processing Units (VPUs) cannot operate concurrently. When both units attempt to decode simultaneously, it triggers a bus error in the hantro-vpu driver, resulting in frame timeouts, corrupted image data, and potential system hangs. The fix involves modifying the Verisilicon driver to ensure G1 and G2 operate alternately by sharing the same v4l2_m2m_dev device instance, allowing the V4L2 mem-to-mem framework to serialize and schedule decoding tasks. This prevents the race condition at the hardware bus level.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel i.MX8MQ platform drivers
Timeline
- 2025-12-05: other: Patch authored
- 2026-05-08: advisory: CVE published by kernel.org