Intel NPU Driver CVE-2026-20769

Exploitation requires a locally authenticated user-level session (Ring 3 / user application space) on a system running an affected version of the Intel NPU Driver. The CVSS 4.0 vector specifies PR:L (low privilege - any authenticated, non-root/admin user), AV:L (local access - shell, physical, or equivalent), and AT:N (no special attack requirements such as race conditions or non-default configuration). No user interaction from a privileged user is required after the attacker has local access. Exploitation is limited by the requirement for local access and an authenticated session; network-adjacent or remote unauthenticated exploitation is not possible based on the AV:L vector. Systems without Intel NPU hardware or without the NPU driver installed are not affected.

The CVSS 4.0 score of 6.9 reflects a moderate-severity, locally-exploitable DoS. The attack vector is local (AV:L), requiring physical or remote shell access with at minimum a low-privileged authenticated session (PR:L), which substantially limits opportunistic exploitation over the network. Attack complexity is low (AC:L) and no special attack requirements apply (AT:N), meaning exploitation is straightforward once local access is achieved. EPSS data is not provided; given the local-only vector and absence of KEV or POC, real-world exploitation probability is assessed as low at this time. There is no confidentiality impact, and integrity impact is limited to low - the primary concern is availability, likely manifesting as a driver crash or system hang affecting NPU functionality. The flaw is more concerning in shared multi-user environments (e.g., enterprise workstations, AI inference servers) where a low-privileged user could disrupt NPU workloads. No conflicting signals exist between the description and CVSS vector - both consistently indicate local, authenticated, low-complexity exploitation. No KEV listing and no POC are identified, supporting a standard patch-cycle response rather than emergency remediation.

A low-privileged local user on an Intel NPU-equipped workstation or AI inference server calls an NPU driver interface with a crafted input that triggers the unhandled exceptional condition in the driver. The driver fails to properly check the condition (CWE-754), leading to a crash or hang of the NPU driver stack, denying NPU availability to all users on the system. No public exploit code has been identified, but the low attack complexity means a motivated local attacker could develop an exploit with modest reverse-engineering effort.