CVE-2026-49743 Imagination Technologies CVE debrief

Who should care

System administrators and security teams responsible for managing and securing systems with affected GPU drivers should be aware of this vulnerability and take necessary actions to mitigate the risk. This includes verifying GPU driver updates are applied, conducting regular vulnerability scans, and implementing compensating controls for local privilege escalation. Additionally, operators, platform administrators, and security teams should review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance.

Technical summary

The vulnerability exists in the GPU driver, where software installed and run as a non-privileged user may conduct improper GPU system calls to manipulate synchronisation objects in the kernel. This can lead to read/write use-after-free (UAF) conditions. The issue arises during workload submission involving a fence exported by the GPU driver, where the reference count of the underlying synchronisation primitive is not properly incremented. The vulnerability can be exploited by destroying the exported fence and prematurely releasing the underlying primitive, resulting in a potential use-after-free condition. Affected product deployments may exist in managed environments, and owners should be assigned for follow-up.

Defensive priority

High priority due to potential for local privilege escalation.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify GPU driver updates are applied
• Conduct regular vulnerability scans
• Implement compensating controls for local privilege escalation
• Monitor system logs for suspicious activity
• Review and update incident response plans
• Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented

Evidence notes

The CVE record and NVD entry provide limited information about the vulnerability. Further analysis is required to fully understand the impact and scope of the vulnerability. The vulnerability exists in GPU drivers, which are commonly used in various systems, including operating systems and graphics-intensive applications. Affected systems may include desktops, laptops, servers, and other devices that utilize GPU acceleration. To verify the vulnerability, defenders should check for GPU driver updates and review system logs for suspicious activity.

Official resources