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DdkApplication · Imaginationtech

CVE-2025-13952

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 25.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A web page that contains unusual GPU shader code is loaded from the Internet into the GPU compiler process triggers a write use-after-free crash in the GPU shader compiler library. On certain platforms, when the compiler process has system privileges this could enable further exploits on the device. The shader code contained in the web page executes a path in the compiler that held onto an out of date pointer, pointing to a freed memory object.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A write use-after-free vulnerability exists in the GPU shader compiler library. When processing specially crafted GPU shader code from a web page, the compiler retains a pointer to memory that has been freed. Subsequent write operations through this stale pointer cause memory corruption. On platforms where the GPU compiler process runs with elevated/system privileges, this can be chained with privilege escalation exploits.

MitigationApply vendor patches for the GPU shader compiler when available. As a defense-in-depth measure, consider restricting GPU compiler process privileges where possible and implementing process isolation for web browsing contexts.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DdkApplication
Affected:< 25.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Imaginationtech DDK version
    Check the installed Imagination Technologies DDK version by examining the driver files or using system inventory tools. Common locations include /usr/lib/imagination/ or Windows driver directories. Use 'dxdiag' on Windows or check /proc/driver/ on Linux for GPU driver info.
    Affected if The installed DDK version is below 25.3 (e.g., 25.2, 25.1, any 24.x release)
  2. Confirm GPU shader compilation is active
    Determine if the system has web browsers or applications that trigger GPU shader compilation from untrusted web content. Check browser settings for GPU acceleration or graphics API usage.
    Affected if GPU shader compilation from web sources is enabled and actively used on the system
  3. Verify GPU compiler privilege context
    Examine the GPU compiler process privileges by reviewing process permissions, service configurations, or driver documentation. Check if the GPU compiler runs as a privileged user or system service.
    Affected if The GPU shader compiler process runs with elevated or system-level privileges rather than user-level sandboxing

A system is affected if Imaginationtech DDK version is below 25.3, GPU shader compilation from web content is enabled, and the compiler runs with elevated privileges making the use-after-free exploitable for potential privilege escalation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 25.3 or later
Fixed in 25.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches for the GPU shader compiler when available. As a defense-in-depth measure, consider restricting GPU compiler process privileges where possible and implementing process isolation for web browsing contexts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

DDK version 25.3 or later

  1. 1. Identify all systems, devices, or products using Imagination Technologies GPU compiler (DDK) with version prior to 25.3
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for affected systems
  3. 3. Obtain the updated DDK version 25.3 or later from Imagination Technologies official distribution channels
  4. 4. Backup current configurations and shader programs before updating
  5. 5. Apply the DDK version 25.3 update to all affected systems following vendor installation documentation
  6. 6. Verify the update was successful by checking the DDK version number
  7. 7. Test that GPU shader compilation functionality operates normally with the update
  8. 8. Monitor for any regression issues in shader compilation workflows

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ddk Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-13952 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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