CVE-2026-90891 in Polychrome SYNC
Summary
by MITRE • 09/14/2026
ASRock Polychrome SYNC/RGB software utility developed by ASRock Inc. has an Improper Access Control vulnerability. Authenticated local attackers can send a specially crafted IOCTL request to cause the driver to write to improperly restricted I/O ports, resulting in a forced operating system reboot.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/14/2026
The vulnerability identified within the ASRock Polychrome SYNC and RGB software utility represents a critical failure in access control mechanisms for kernel-mode drivers. This flaw allows authenticated local attackers to exploit improper validation of input parameters sent via IOCTL (Input/Output Control) requests. Although the attacker is required to have authentication, this requirement does not mitigate the severity of the issue because any user account on the system can authenticate and interact with the driver interface. The core technical deficiency lies in the driver's failure to properly restrict access to specific I/O ports that are intended for privileged operations only. By crafting a malicious IOCTL request, an attacker can bypass these restrictions and force the operating system to write data directly to hardware registers or memory-mapped I/O locations that should be inaccessible to standard user-level processes.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability is classified under CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management, specifically highlighting the lack of proper checks for elevated privileges when performing sensitive operations. The driver accepts input from local users without adequately verifying whether those inputs are safe or authorized for the specific hardware context they target. This misconfiguration enables direct manipulation of low-level system components that control power states and hardware initialization sequences. When an attacker sends a specially crafted IOCTL request, it triggers a write operation to these improperly restricted I/O ports. The immediate consequence of this unauthorized access is often a destabilization of the operating system's state, leading to a forced reboot or system crash as the kernel attempts to handle invalid hardware commands or encounters protection faults due to illegal memory accesses initiated by the driver.
The operational impact of this vulnerability centers on availability and potential escalation pathways. The most direct effect is a denial of service through system instability, where an attacker can repeatedly trigger reboots, disrupting normal operations and potentially causing data loss if unsaved work is interrupted during critical processes. Furthermore, while the primary description emphasizes forced reboots, vulnerabilities involving improper access to I/O ports often serve as stepping stones for more severe exploits. By gaining control over specific hardware registers or memory regions through these IOCTL requests, an attacker might attempt to escalate privileges further, potentially achieving kernel-level execution if additional exploitation techniques are combined with this initial foothold. This aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter when considering how local attackers use system utilities to execute malicious code, as well as T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation if the I/O manipulation leads to higher-level access.
Mitigation strategies must focus on both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. The primary defense is to apply vendor-provided patches that update the ASRock Polychrome SYNC/RGB software utility, ensuring that the underlying driver code includes rigorous input validation and strict privilege checks before allowing any IOCTL requests to proceed. Administrators should restrict physical access to systems running this vulnerable software, as local authentication is sufficient for exploitation. Additionally, implementing application whitelisting or endpoint detection and response solutions can help monitor and block suspicious IOCTL activity originating from non-standard processes. Regular auditing of driver signatures and ensuring that only signed, verified drivers are loaded into the kernel environment also reduces the attack surface associated with third-party hardware utilities like this one.