Description

In apusys, there is a possible memory corruption due to use after free. This could lead to local escalation of privilege if a malicious actor has already obtained the System privilege. User interaction is not needed for exploitation. Patch ID: ALPS11076799; Issue ID: MSV-8143.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.7",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-05T02:16:53.270Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-05T02:16:53.270Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A memory corruption vulnerability classified as a Use-After-Free (UAF) has been identified within the apusys component.\nThis vulnerability allows for potential local escalation of privilege, enabling a malicious actor who has already secured System-level access to execute arbitrary code or further compromise the system state.\nThe flaw affects the apusys driver/subsystem environment. Exploitation does not require user interaction, though it necessitates that the attacker possesses an existing System privilege baseline to leverage the UAF for privilege escalation or kernel memory manipulation.\nThe risk implication is significant as it provides a mechanism for post-compromise persistence or privilege manipulation, undermining kernel-level integrity.\nThis issue is tracked under Issue ID MSV-8143 and Patch ID ALPS11076799.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides within the apusys component, specifically manifesting as a Use-After-Free (UAF) condition during memory management operations. A UAF vulnerability occurs when an application continues to utilize a memory address after the memory has been freed or deallocated by the system allocator.\nIn the context of apusys, the root cause involves an improper tracking of object lifecycles. When a kernel object is deallocated but a dangling pointer to the memory location remains active, subsequent operations can trigger a re-access of that memory. If an attacker can influence the heap layout or force the re-allocation of that same memory address with malicious data, the system may inadvertently execute or operate on attacker-controlled input as if it were valid, trusted kernel data.\nThe exploitation flow begins with the attacker operating at the System privilege level. By interacting with the apusys driver interface, the attacker triggers a specific code path that releases an object prematurely while maintaining a reference to it. The attacker then performs a heap spray or utilizes kernel allocations to overwrite the memory previously occupied by the freed object. Subsequent execution flow in the driver will then utilize the now-maliciously modified memory address, leading to arbitrary code execution within the kernel context.\nThis vulnerability is particularly critical due to the lack of user interaction requirements, facilitating silent exploitation once the initial System-level privilege threshold is met. By successfully exploiting the UAF, an adversary can manipulate internal kernel structures, potentially escalating privileges further or bypassing security restrictions enforced by the kernel. Because the memory corruption occurs within the kernel address space, the impact includes complete system compromise, bypassing existing hardware or software-based integrity checks. The lack of proper synchronization and lifecycle management for these objects during concurrent operations is likely the primary architectural deficiency contributing to this flaw."
}