CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-22166NVD status: Analyzed

Graphics DDK: Use After Free

CVE-2026-22166 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Graphics DDK from Imagination Technologies, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Graphics DDK versions: 1.18 RTM; 23.2 RTM; 24.1 RTM through 24.2 RTM, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.39% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Graphics DDK you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on imaginationtech.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Imagination TechnologiesGraphics DDK1.18 RTM; 23.2 RTM; 24.1 RTM through 24.2 RTM; 25.1 RTM through 25.3 RTMNot stated
ImaginationtechDdk25.2 and earlier; 25.3Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
NoneNo data is disclosed.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).

Official description

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

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Graphics DDK

All Graphics DDK vulnerabilities

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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