# CVE-2026-16003: ASUS Armoury Crate driver privilege escalation via IOCTL access control bypass

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-16003-asus-armoury-crate-driver-privilege-escalation-via-ioctl-access  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-08. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-16003 · Severity: info · Published 2026-09-08

The ASUS Armoury Crate driver, used to manage system settings and RGB lighting on ASUS hardware, contains an exposed IOCTL interface with insufficient access control. A local attacker can exploit this flaw to add arbitrary process identifiers to the driver's whitelist, potentially bypassing security restrictions and gaining elevated privileges without authorization.

Technologies: [ASUS Armoury Crate](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/armoury-crate). Vendors: [ASUS](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/asus).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-16003 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16003 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-16003?** Informational severity, published 8 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** ASUS Armoury Crate <UNKNOWN>.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16003?** 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-2026-16003 attacked?** It is attacked with local access.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-16003?** Check whether you run ASUS Armoury Crate at an affected version. 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

The vulnerability exists in the Armoury Crate driver's IOCTL (I/O Control) handler, which lacks proper access validation on requests to modify the process whitelist. An attacker with local system access can craft a malicious IOCTL request to add an arbitrary process identifier to the driver's whitelist, circumventing the driver's verification mechanisms. This is a local privilege escalation vector requiring existing access to the affected system. The attack does not require network connectivity or user interaction beyond executing the malicious IOCTL request. Patch details are referenced in the ASUS Security Advisory; users should apply the recommended security update to Armoury Crate.

## Affected products

- ASUS Armoury Crate <UNKNOWN>

## Timeline

- 2026-09-08: disclosed

## References

- [https://www.asus.com/security-advisory](https://www.asus.com/security-advisory)

## Related threats

- [ASUS Armoury Crate missing authorization in inter-process interface](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-110464-missing-authorization-in-asus-armoury-crate-allows-a-local)
- [ASUS Armoury Crate uncontrolled search path DLL injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-102438-an-uncontrolled-search-path-element-vulnerability-in-asus)
- [ASUS Armoury Crate privilege escalation via driver authentication bypass](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-75811-asus-armoury-crate-privilege-escalation-via-driver-authentication)
- [ASUS Armoury Crate exposed dangerous method denial of service](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-75810-asus-armoury-crate-exposed-dangerous-method-denial-of-service)
- [ASUS Armoury Crate privilege escalation via insufficient IOCTL access control](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-75809-asus-armoury-crate-privilege-escalation-via-insufficient-ioctl)