# CVE-2026-15466: Imagination GPU DDK race condition in hardware performance counters

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-15466-software-installed-and-run-as-a-non-privileged-user-may-conduct  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-30. Updated: 2026-10-30  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-15466 · Severity: info · Published 2026-10-30

Imagination Technologies' GPU driver (DDK) contains a race condition in the hardware performance counters buffer that can be exploited by unprivileged applications through improper GPU system calls. An attacker could read or write kernel heap memory, potentially leading to information disclosure or kernel memory corruption and system compromise.

Technologies: [Imagination Technologies GPU DDK](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/gpu-ddk). Vendors: [Imagination Technologies](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/imagination-technologies).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-15466 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-15466 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-15466?** Informational severity, published 30 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Imagination Technologies GPU DDK.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-15466?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-15466 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in device firmware.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-15466?** Check whether you run Imagination Technologies GPU DDK. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A race condition exists in the destruction path of hardware performance counters buffers, where non-atomic reference counter decrements allow use-after-free (UAF) reads and writes to kernel heap memory. Non-privileged users can trigger this via malformed GPU system calls, gaining unauthorized access to freed kernel objects on the GPU driver's heap.

## Affected products

- Imagination Technologies GPU DDK

## Timeline

- 2026-10-30: disclosed

## References

- [https://www.imaginationtech.com/gpu-driver-vulnerabilities/](https://www.imaginationtech.com/gpu-driver-vulnerabilities/)

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- [Imagination GPU DDK integer overflow in buffer mapping](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-49747-software-installed-and-run-as-a-non-privileged-user-may-conduct)
- [Imagination GPU DDK use-after-free in kernel module interface](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-15465-software-installed-and-run-as-a-non-privileged-user-may-conduct)
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- [Imagination GPU DDK integer truncation in buffer mapping](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-74912-on-gpu-systems-with-the-security-vulnerability-fix-for-applied)
