The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading…

published 2021-05-10 5y ago modified 2026-06-17 4mo ago also EUVD-2021-15327

cvss: 8.8; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Exploited; added 2021-11-03
epss: 12.1%; EPSS 12.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 96%
public exploits: 0; none known

The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading to a use-after-free. This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, Valhall r19p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, and Midgard r4p0 through r30p0.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

fixed in 3

arm bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver r29p0
arm midgard_gpu_kernel_driver r31p0
arm valhall_gpu_kernel_driver r29p0

Is CVE-2021-28663 in your stack? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.

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Timeline

2021-05-03 0-day patched (Project Zero)
2021-05-10 Published
2021-11-03 Added to CISA KEV
2021-11-17 CISA patch deadline
2024-07-24 CISA SSVC: exploitation active

Known exploited

Added: 5y ago (2021-11-03)
Patch by: 2021-11-17 (4y ago)
Ransomware: Not known
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product: Arm, Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
CISA name: Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Zero-day

Detected in real attacks while still unknown to the vendor and the public, per Google Project Zero's 0day In-the-Wild tracker.

Patched: 2021-05-03
Details: project zero tracker

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 2y ago (2024-07-24)

Exploit prediction

12.08% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 96% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

github.com https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CISA ADP	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	9.0	AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

arm bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver
arm valhall_gpu_kernel_driver
arm midgard_gpu_kernel_driver

Classification

Weakness

CWE-416 Use After Free

References

github.com /lntrx/CVE-2021-28663
exploit
developer.arm.com /support/arm-security-updates
vendor-advisory
developer.arm.com /support/arm-security-updates/mali-gpu-kernel-driver
vendor-advisory
cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-28663
government-resource, us-government-resource

Sources

CVE List CVE-2021-28663
NVD CVE-2021-28663

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