# CVE-2025-40207: media: v4l2-subdev: Fix alloc failure check in v4l2_subdev_call_state_try()

> A missing error check in the Linux kernel V4L2 subsystem can cause a crash upon allocation failure, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Nov 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-70070, BELL-CVE-2025-40207, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-40207, GHSA-2m92-rj5f-pp8g, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-40207, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-40207, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-40207

## What is CVE-2025-40207?

CVE-2025-40207 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 12 Nov 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

media: v4l2-subdev: Fix alloc failure check in v4l2_subdev_call_state_try()

v4l2_subdev_call_state_try() macro allocates a subdev state with
__v4l2_subdev_state_alloc(), but does not check the returned value. If
__v4l2_subdev_state_alloc fails, it returns an ERR_PTR, and that would
cause v4l2_subdev_call_state_try() to crash.

Add proper error handling to v4l2_subdev_call_state_try().

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-40207?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-40207?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-40207 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-40207 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-40207 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-40207 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 12 Nov 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-40207 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40207/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40207/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-40207
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-40207
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-40207

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40207/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.