CVE-2025-46711 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in the Graphics Device Driver Kit (DDK) developed by Imagination Technologies. The flaw is classified under CWE-476, which corresponds to a NULL Pointer Dereference. This vulnerability arises when software, even if executed by a non-privileged user, makes improper GPU system calls that cause the kernel to dereference a NULL pointer. This results in kernel exceptions, typically leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition due to system crashes or reboots. The affected versions include 1.17 RTM, 1.18 RTM, and 23.2 RTM of the Graphics DDK. The CVSS v3.1 score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating local attack vector (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N, I:N), but high impact on availability (A:H). No public exploits are currently known, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is significant because it allows non-privileged users to trigger kernel exceptions via GPU calls, potentially causing system instability or crashes. This could be exploited in multi-user environments or scenarios where untrusted code runs locally, such as shared workstations or virtualized environments leveraging GPU acceleration.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-46711 is the potential for denial of service on systems utilizing the affected Imagination Technologies Graphics DDK versions. This can disrupt critical operations, especially in sectors relying on GPU-accelerated computing such as media production, scientific research, and certain industrial applications. Systems running Linux or other OSes that integrate this DDK in workstations or servers could experience unexpected crashes, leading to downtime and productivity loss. While the vulnerability does not allow privilege escalation or data compromise directly, the availability impact can be significant in environments requiring high uptime or real-time processing. Additionally, in shared or multi-tenant environments, malicious or compromised local users could exploit this flaw to disrupt services, impacting organizational reliability and potentially causing cascading operational issues. Given the lack of known exploits, the immediate risk is moderate, but the vulnerability should be addressed promptly to prevent future exploitation.

Organizations should first inventory their systems to identify the presence of Imagination Technologies Graphics DDK versions 1.17 RTM, 1.18 RTM, and 23.2 RTM. Until patches are available, consider the following mitigations: 1) Restrict local user access to systems with the affected DDK, limiting the ability of unprivileged users to execute GPU system calls. 2) Implement strict access controls and monitoring on GPU-related system calls to detect anomalous usage patterns that could indicate attempts to trigger the vulnerability. 3) Employ kernel-level security modules or sandboxing techniques to isolate GPU driver interactions from untrusted processes. 4) Coordinate with Imagination Technologies for timely patch releases and apply updates as soon as they become available. 5) In virtualized or containerized environments, consider disabling GPU passthrough or acceleration features temporarily if not critical, to reduce attack surface. 6) Maintain robust system monitoring and incident response capabilities to quickly identify and remediate any crashes or instability potentially caused by exploitation attempts.