External risk intelligence

Integer Overflow in GPU MMU Calculation Leads to Memory Corruption or Information Disclosure.

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2026-16280

This vulnerability affects GPU memory management unit (MMU) mappings and physical memory offset calculations. GPU drivers operate at the device driver and kernel level, requiring local system access to interact with the hardware. They are not internet-facing services, web applications, or network gateways.

Integer Overflow

Halo Surface Signal: 1 out of 5 — much less likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This CVE describes a vulnerability in how certain graphics processing units calculate memory addresses. An issue with integer overflow could lead to incorrect memory access, potentially allowing unauthorized users to read or modify unintended data, resulting in memory corruption or information disclosure.

Integer overflow in GPU memory address calculation.
Could allow unauthorized memory access.
Confirm relevance and exposure for affected systems.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this by triggering an integer overflow when the system calculates physical offsets for sparse graphics processing unit (GPU) memory regions. This overflow can lead to incorrect memory address computations, potentially allowing a user without special privileges to access or modify unintended physical memory. The consequences of this could range from corrupting data to revealing sensitive information.

Requires no special privileges.
Triggered by calculating large physical offsets.
Risks memory corruption and information leaks.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

An integer overflow in the calculation of physical offsets for sparse PMRs could lead to incorrect GPU memory management unit (MMU) mappings. When the PMRs exceed 4 GB, this may enable a non-privileged user to access unintended physical memory, potentially causing memory corruption or information disclosure.

GPU MMU mappings and physical memory.
Non-privileged user triggers incorrect mappings.
Memory corruption or information disclosure.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This vulnerability impacts GPU memory management, suggesting that teams responsible for graphics driver infrastructure, platform teams managing GPU resources, and potentially security teams overseeing kernel-level vulnerabilities should investigate. The initial practical step is to identify all systems utilizing the affected GPU technology, assess their exposure and criticality, and confirm ownership before planning any remediation.

Owner: Infrastructure or platform teams.
Verify: System reachability and criticality.
Action: Plan remediation based on risk.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

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Frequently asked questions

What is the software affected by CVE-2026-16280?

This CVE concerns graphics processing unit (GPU) drivers, which are specialized software components that allow your operating system to communicate with the hardware. Specifically, the vulnerability resides in the code responsible for managing physical memory regions (PMRs) used by the GPU. These drivers are essential for tasks requiring high-performance computing, rendering graphics, or accelerating machine learning workloads.

How does an integer overflow cause this vulnerability?

The weakness, classified as CWE-190, happens when a mathematical calculation exceeds the maximum capacity of its storage container. In this instance, when calculating memory offsets for very large GPU regions, the address value is truncated to 32 bits. This results in an incorrect memory address being generated, which can trick the system into accessing the wrong physical memory location.

Do I need to do anything to trigger this bug?

The bug is triggered when the system performs calculations for sparse physical memory regions larger than 4 GB. It is important to note that this is not triggered by standard, everyday use of small memory allocations. The underlying issue exists specifically within the driver's address calculation logic, meaning it is not a result of user data content but rather the system's own handling of large memory structures.

Is my system at risk if it is connected to the internet?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this vulnerability is very unlikely to be reachable from the internet. Because the flaw involves low-level GPU memory management units, an attacker generally requires local system access to interact with the device driver. Systems are typically not exposed to this risk via web browsers or network-facing services, as the driver operates deep within the kernel environment.

What are the first steps to handle this CVE?

Begin by identifying all hardware or virtualized environments in your organization that utilize the affected GPU technology. Once you have an inventory, coordinate with your infrastructure or platform teams to assess the criticality of these systems. The goal is to determine which devices are in use and verify their current patch level or vendor-provided updates, prioritizing systems that handle sensitive data or run untrusted code.

References

www.imaginationtech.com/gpu-driver-vulnerabilities/

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.