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Bifrost Gpu Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2022-28349

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver has a use-after-free: Midgard r28p0 through r29p0 before r30p0, Bifrost r17p0 through r23p0 before r24p0, and Valhall r19p0 through r23p0 before r24p0.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver affecting multiple GPU architectures (Midgard, Bifrost, and Valhall). The vulnerability allows memory that has been freed to be accessed again, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system compromise in kernel context.

MitigationUpdate Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers to r30p0 or later for Midgard, and r24p0 or later for Bifrost and Valhall versions to patch the use-after-free vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Bifrost Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r17p0, <= r23p0
Midguard Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r28p0, <= r29p0
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r19p0, <= r23p0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Arm Mali GPU kernel driver is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep -i mali' or check '/proc/modules' for mali-related kernel modules such as mali_kbase, mali_bifrost, or mali_valhall
    Affected if No Mali driver modules are loaded, meaning the system does not use an Arm Mali GPU
  2. Identify the Mali driver module and version
    Use 'modinfo <module_name>' on the loaded Mali module (e.g., mali_kbase) to retrieve the driver version, or check '/sys/module/<module_name>/version'
    Affected if Unable to retrieve a version number from the Mali driver module
  3. Determine the GPU architecture family
    Examine kernel logs (dmesg) for messages mentioning 'mali', 'bifrost', 'midgard', or 'valhall', or check '/sys/class/misc/mali0/device/name' if available, to identify whether the system uses Bifrost, Midgard, or Valhall GPU architecture
    Affected if The GPU architecture cannot be determined from available system information
  4. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Match the installed driver version to the affected ranges: Bifrost r17p0 to r23p0, Midgard r28p0 to r29p0, or Valhall r19p0 to r23p0. If the version falls within these ranges, the system is vulnerable
    Affected if The installed driver version falls within one of the affected version ranges for its GPU architecture

A system is affected if it runs an Arm Mali GPU with a kernel driver version within r17p0-r23p0 for Bifrost, r28p0-r29p0 for Midgard, or r19p0-r23p0 for Valhall architectures.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers to r30p0 or later for Midgard, and r24p0 or later for Bifrost and Valhall versions to patch the use-after-free vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Bifrost/Valhall: r24p0 or later | Midgard: r30p0 or later

  1. 1. Identify the specific Arm Mali GPU variant (Bifrost, Midgard, or Valhall) and current driver version on the affected system
  2. 2. For Bifrost and Valhall drivers: upgrade to r24p0 or later from Arm's official driver releases
  3. 3. For Midgard drivers: upgrade to r30p0 or later from Arm's official driver releases
  4. 4. Apply the driver update through the device manufacturer's recommended update mechanism (system firmware update, Android security patch, or direct driver installation)
  5. 5. Verify the new driver version is correctly loaded after reboot
Caveat Driver updates may require system reboot; verify compatibility with downstream systems before deploying

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bifrost Gpu Kernel Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28349 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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