CVE-2025-26405 is a vulnerability identified in Intel(R) Neural Processing Unit (NPU) drivers that operate within Ring 3, the user application space. The issue stems from improper management of dynamically allocated code resources, which can be manipulated by an unprivileged but authenticated local user to cause a denial of service (DoS). The attack complexity is low, requiring only local access and passive user interaction, without the need for elevated privileges or special internal knowledge. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity but can severely impact system availability by causing the NPU driver or associated processes to crash or become unresponsive. Intel NPUs are specialized hardware accelerators designed to enhance AI and machine learning workloads, increasingly deployed in enterprise and edge computing environments. Disruption of these drivers can halt AI-related processing tasks, potentially affecting business operations reliant on these capabilities. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates local attack vector (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no attack prerequisites (AT:N), low privileges required (PR:L), and user interaction needed (UI:P), with high impact on availability (VA:H). No known exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed proactively. The affected versions are not explicitly listed but are referenced in Intel advisories. The vulnerability was reserved in March 2025 and published in November 2025, indicating recent discovery and disclosure.

For European organizations, the primary impact is on system availability, particularly in environments leveraging Intel NPUs for AI and machine learning workloads. Disruption of NPU drivers can lead to service outages, degraded performance, or failure of AI-dependent applications, which may affect sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and research institutions that increasingly rely on AI acceleration. Since the attack requires local authenticated access, insider threats or compromised user accounts pose a significant risk vector. The lack of confidentiality or integrity impact reduces the risk of data breaches or manipulation but does not diminish the operational disruption potential. Organizations with critical infrastructure or real-time processing requirements may experience significant operational downtime. The medium severity rating suggests a moderate risk level; however, the ease of exploitation and potential for availability impact warrant timely mitigation. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently lowers immediate threat urgency but does not preclude future exploitation attempts.

1. Apply Intel-provided patches and driver updates as soon as they become available to remediate the vulnerability. 2. Restrict local user access to systems running Intel NPU drivers, enforcing the principle of least privilege and strong authentication controls to reduce the risk of exploitation by unprivileged users. 3. Monitor system logs and driver behavior for anomalies indicative of attempted exploitation or driver crashes. 4. Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting unusual local activity related to NPU drivers. 5. Educate users about the risks of passive interaction attacks and enforce policies to limit unnecessary user interactions on critical systems. 6. For environments where patching may be delayed, consider isolating NPU-enabled systems or limiting access to trusted personnel only. 7. Coordinate with Intel and security vendors for threat intelligence updates and recommended best practices specific to Intel NPU hardware.