CVE-2026-69025 in Exynos 1480
Summary
by MITRE • 11/05/2026
In the Exynos NPU driver, improper validation of user input in the ioctl handler can lead to an out-of-bounds write, which causes a denial of service
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/05/2026
The vulnerability resides within the kernel-space implementation of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) driver for Samsung Exynos SoCs, specifically affecting the interface used by user-space applications to interact with hardware acceleration features. This component is critical for offloading machine learning and image processing tasks from the central processor, making it a high-value target for attackers seeking to disrupt system stability or escalate privileges. The core technical flaw stems from an improper validation mechanism within the ioctl handler, which serves as the primary entry point for control commands issued by user-space processes. When these commands are received, the driver fails to adequately verify the bounds of memory buffers and array indices provided in the input structures before proceeding with data processing operations.
This lack of rigorous boundary checking allows a malicious or compromised application to supply crafted ioctl arguments that specify invalid offsets, lengths, or index values exceeding the allocated kernel memory regions associated with the NPU context. Upon execution, these malformed parameters trigger an out-of-bounds write operation within the kernel address space. Unlike user-space buffer overflows which may result in arbitrary code execution if exploitation techniques are sophisticated enough, this specific flaw primarily manifests as a denial of service condition due to the immediate corruption of critical kernel data structures or memory pages. The operating system detects the illegal memory access and typically responds by crashing the affected process or, in severe cases where core subsystems are impacted, triggering a full kernel panic that renders the entire device unresponsive until rebooted.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write, as it involves writing data to a memory location outside of the intended buffer boundaries. Furthermore, its operational impact corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1499: Endpoint Denial of Service, where an adversary aims to disrupt availability by exhausting system resources or causing crashes through software vulnerabilities. The severity is heightened because kernel-level exploits bypass many user-space security controls and can potentially lead to privilege escalation if the out-of-bounds write targets specific control structures that influence execution flow, although the immediate observed impact is service disruption.
Mitigation strategies must focus on hardening the driver's input validation logic. Developers should implement strict range checks for all indices and buffer sizes derived from user-space inputs before any memory allocation or copy operations are performed. Utilizing kernel APIs such as memcpy_s with explicit length verification can help prevent accidental overflows. Additionally, enabling Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR) and stack canaries provides defense-in-depth measures that make exploitation more difficult even if the vulnerability is triggered. System administrators should ensure that firmware updates containing patches for this driver are applied promptly to close the gap between user-space requests and kernel-side validation checks.