CVE-2025-66320 identifies a race condition vulnerability classified under CWE-362 within the camera framework module of Huawei's HarmonyOS. This flaw occurs due to improper synchronization when multiple threads concurrently access shared resources, leading to unpredictable behavior. Specifically, the vulnerability can cause the camera subsystem to become unstable or crash, thereby affecting the availability of camera services on affected devices. The vulnerability impacts HarmonyOS versions 5.0.1, 5.1.0, and 6.0.0. The CVSS 3.1 score of 5.1 (medium severity) reflects that exploitation requires local access with high privileges (PR:H), no user interaction (UI:N), and has a limited impact on integrity (I:L) and no impact on confidentiality (C:N), but a high impact on availability (A:H). The scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the vulnerability affects only the vulnerable component without impacting other system components. No public exploits have been reported yet, and no patches have been linked, indicating that mitigation currently relies on vendor updates and best practices. This vulnerability could be leveraged by an attacker with elevated privileges on the device to disrupt camera functionality, which may be critical for applications relying on video or image capture. The race condition nature suggests that exploitation might be non-trivial and timing-dependent, requiring precise conditions to trigger the fault. Given the critical role of cameras in many mobile and IoT devices, this vulnerability poses a risk to device availability and service continuity.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-66320 lies in the potential disruption of camera services on Huawei devices running affected HarmonyOS versions. This can affect sectors relying on mobile imaging capabilities, such as telecommunications, public safety, healthcare, and media. The availability impact could lead to denial of service conditions on devices, impairing operational workflows that depend on camera functionality. Although confidentiality and integrity are not directly compromised, the loss of availability can degrade user experience and operational efficiency. Organizations using Huawei devices in secure environments may face challenges if camera-based authentication or monitoring is disrupted. Additionally, the requirement for high privilege local access limits the risk to insiders or attackers who have already compromised the device, but it underscores the importance of endpoint security. Given Huawei's significant market share in certain European countries, the vulnerability could affect a substantial user base, particularly in enterprises and government agencies that deploy Huawei hardware. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits over time.

1. Monitor Huawei's official security advisories and apply patches promptly once they are released for affected HarmonyOS versions. 2. Restrict local high-privilege access on devices to trusted users only, employing strong authentication and endpoint protection measures to prevent privilege escalation. 3. Implement application whitelisting and behavior monitoring to detect anomalous processes attempting to exploit race conditions in the camera framework. 4. Where possible, limit the use of affected Huawei devices in critical environments until patches are available. 5. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments focusing on device firmware and OS components. 6. Employ runtime protections such as thread synchronization checks or sandboxing to mitigate race condition exploitation risks. 7. Educate users and administrators about the risks of privilege misuse and the importance of timely updates. 8. Consider network segmentation and device isolation strategies to contain potential impacts if exploitation occurs. 9. Collaborate with Huawei support channels for guidance and early access to fixes or mitigations. 10. Maintain incident response readiness to quickly address any exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability.