Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-22165

Memory Safety in Imaginationtech Ddk ≤ 25.2

Memory Safety
Published
01 May 2026
Modified
01 June 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0035 27th percentile
Risk Priority 59 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-22165 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Imaginationtech Ddk. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 27th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-22165 is a use-after-free (CWE-416) vulnerability with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H), affecting the GPU GLES user-space shared library in Imagination Technologies GPU drivers. The issue arises when a web page loads unusual WebGPU content into the GPU GLES render process, triggering a write-after-free crash in the library. This flaw is particularly concerning on platforms where the graphics workload process runs with system privileges, potentially allowing escalation to broader device compromise.

An attacker with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this remotely over the network (AV:N) with low complexity and no user interaction required. By crafting a malicious web page with specific WebGPU content, the attacker induces the UAF condition, leading to high integrity (I:H) and availability (A:H) impacts via crashes or code execution in the GPU process. On affected platforms granting system privileges to the graphics process, successful exploitation could enable arbitrary code execution and further device-level attacks.

Imagination Technologies has documented the vulnerability on their GPU driver vulnerabilities page at https://www.imaginationtech.com/gpu-driver-vulnerabilities/, where practitioners should consult for patch availability and mitigation guidance.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A web page that contains unusual WebGPU content loaded into the GPU GLES render process and can trigger a write UAF crash in the GPU GLES user-space shared library. On certain platforms, when the process executing graphics workload has system…

more

privileges this could enable further exploits on the device.

CWE(s)
CWE-416

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-22166Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-10865Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-46709Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-58411Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-13952Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-46710Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-58408Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2026-34196Same product: Imaginationtech Ddk
CVE-2025-26681Shared CWE-416
CVE-2025-48543Shared CWE-416

Affected Assets

imaginationtech
ddk
25.3 · ≤ 25.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.

SC-39 Process Isolation partial match

Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References