# CVE-2026-16005: ASUS Armoury Crate driver use-after-free via IOCTL

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-16005-asus-armoury-crate-driver-use-after-free-via-ioctl  
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-2026-16005 · Severity: info · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2026-09-08

The ASUS Armoury Crate driver contains a memory management vulnerability that allows a local attacker with limited privileges to crash the system or corrupt memory through a specially crafted driver command. This could lead to data loss, system instability, or provide a stepping stone for further attacks on affected ASUS computers.

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

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-16005 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16005 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-16005?** Informational severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 8 September 2026.

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

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16005?** 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-2026-16005 attacked?** It is attacked with local access.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-16005?** Check whether you run ASUS Armoury Crate. 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 Armoury Crate driver is vulnerable to a use-after-free (release of invalid pointer) condition in its IOCTL request handling. An attacker can bypass the driver's input verification and supply a crafted IOCTL request that causes the driver to free an arbitrary memory address, leading to memory corruption and triggering a blue screen of death (BSOD). The vulnerability requires local access to the system but does not require elevated privileges. ASUS has released patches; users should update Armoury Crate to the patched version.

## Affected products

- ASUS Armoury Crate

## 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)