CVE-2026-23790 in Exynos
Summary
by MITRE • 09/14/2026
An issue was discovered in DPU in Samsung Mobile Processor Exynos 1280, 2200, 1380, 1480, 2400, 1580, 2500, 1680, and 2600. A double-free vulnerability in the Samsung Exynos DPU driver (due to improper pointer management during DMA buffer reallocation) leads to kernel memory corruption and a potential use-after-free.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/14/2026
The identified security flaw resides within the Display Processing Unit driver of several Samsung Mobile Processor series, including the Exynos 1280, 2200, 1380, 1480, 1580, 1680, and 2500 through 2600. This vulnerability is classified as a double-free error, which occurs when the same memory block is freed more than once by the software logic managing it. In this specific instance, the root cause is traced to improper pointer management during Dynamic Memory Allocation buffer reallocation processes within the kernel space of the operating system running on these devices. The driver fails to correctly update or nullify pointers after releasing a DMA buffer, leaving stale references that can be accessed again later in the execution flow.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-415, which defines double free as freeing memory twice without ensuring it is not allocated elsewhere. When the kernel attempts to deallocate the same physical or virtual memory address for the second time, it corrupts the internal data structures used by the operating system's memory manager. This corruption can manifest in various ways depending on how quickly subsequent allocations occur and what new objects are placed at that freed location. The immediate consequence is often a crash of the kernel subsystem responsible for display processing, leading to device instability or a forced reboot. However, the more severe implication involves potential use-after-free conditions where an attacker might manipulate memory contents before they are reallocated, allowing them to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant because it affects critical system components responsible for rendering graphics and handling display output on mobile devices. An adversary who can trigger the specific sequence leading to buffer reallocation could exploit this race condition or logic error to escalate their privilege level from a standard application context to that of the kernel root user. This escalation enables full control over the device, including the ability to bypass security boundaries, exfiltrate sensitive data such as encryption keys and personal information, install persistent malware, or disable security features like SELinux enforcement. Given that these processors are widely used in mid-range smartphones and tablets, the potential attack surface is substantial across multiple user demographics.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve patching the affected Samsung Exynos DPU drivers to enforce strict pointer management protocols. Developers must ensure that pointers are explicitly set to null immediately after a memory deallocation operation to prevent accidental reuse of stale references. Additionally implementing robust checks before every free call can help detect and abort operations on already freed memory blocks, thereby preventing double-free scenarios. For end-users, the most effective defense is applying the latest security patches provided by Samsung for their specific device models. These updates typically include fixes that address improper pointer handling in kernel drivers responsible for hardware abstraction layers. Until such patches are applied, users should exercise caution with applications requesting high-level graphics permissions and ensure that mobile operating systems remain updated to incorporate vendor-supplied mitigations against known memory corruption vulnerabilities.