CVE-2025-5324 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in TechPowerUp GPU-Z version 2.23.0, specifically within the GPU-Z.sys driver library. The flaw exists in the function sub_140001880, which handles IOCTL requests identified by the component code 0x8000645C. The vulnerability manifests as a memory leak triggered by crafted local inputs to the IOCTL handler. This memory leak could lead to resource exhaustion on the affected system over time if exploited repeatedly, potentially degrading system performance or causing instability. The attack vector is local, requiring the attacker to have limited privileges (PR:L) on the host machine, but no user interaction is necessary once privileges are obtained. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 4.8, reflecting a medium impact primarily due to the limited scope and the nature of the vulnerability. The vendor has not responded to the disclosure, and no patches or mitigations have been officially released. While no known exploits are currently observed in the wild, the public disclosure of the vulnerability increases the risk of exploitation attempts by local threat actors or malicious insiders. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality, integrity, or availability directly but can cause performance degradation and potential denial of service through memory exhaustion.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is mainly operational. Systems running TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.23.0 with the vulnerable GPU-Z.sys driver could experience degraded performance or instability due to memory leaks if exploited. This could affect workstations or servers used for GPU monitoring or diagnostics, particularly in sectors relying heavily on GPU resources such as media production, scientific research, and financial modeling. Although the attack requires local access with limited privileges, insider threats or compromised user accounts could leverage this flaw to disrupt operations. The lack of vendor response and patches increases the risk exposure. However, since the vulnerability does not allow remote exploitation or privilege escalation, the broader network security risk remains low. European organizations with strict endpoint security and user privilege management are less likely to be severely impacted, but those with lax controls or extensive use of GPU-Z for hardware monitoring should prioritize mitigation.

1. Immediately audit and inventory all systems running TechPowerUp GPU-Z version 2.23.0 to identify vulnerable endpoints. 2. Restrict local user privileges to the minimum necessary, preventing untrusted users from executing or interacting with GPU-Z or its driver components. 3. Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection to monitor and block unauthorized attempts to invoke the vulnerable IOCTL handler. 4. Consider temporarily disabling or uninstalling GPU-Z on critical systems until a vendor patch or official mitigation is available. 5. Monitor system memory usage patterns for unusual leaks or resource exhaustion symptoms that could indicate exploitation attempts. 6. Engage with TechPowerUp or community forums for updates or unofficial patches and apply them cautiously after testing. 7. Incorporate this vulnerability into internal threat modeling and incident response plans, emphasizing local privilege abuse scenarios. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on privilege management, monitoring, and proactive endpoint controls tailored to the nature of this local memory leak vulnerability.