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Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2022-41757

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
An issue was discovered in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver. A non-privileged user can make improper GPU processing operations to obtain write access to read-only memory, or obtain access to already freed memory. This affects Valhall r29p0 through r38p1 before r38p2, and r39p0 before r40p0.

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 · high confidence

This is a privilege escalation and memory corruption vulnerability in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver. A non-privileged user can exploit improper GPU processing operations to write to read-only memory regions or access already freed memory (use-after-free), potentially leading to elevation of privileges or information disclosure.

MitigationUpgrade the Mali GPU driver to version r38p2 or later for the r29p0-r38p1 branch, or r40p0 or later for the r39p0 branch. This is a kernel-level driver update that should be tested thoroughly for GPU functionality regressions.

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
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r29p0, < r38p2= r39p0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify if the system uses an Arm Mali GPU
    Run 'lspci | grep -i mali' on PCI-based systems, or check 'lsmod | grep -E "mali|arm_mali"' for loaded Mali kernel modules, or inspect /sys/bus/platform/devices/ for mali-related device entries.
    Affected if No Mali GPU hardware or driver module is present in the system.
  2. Locate the Mali GPU kernel driver module name
    If using lsmod, identify the exact module name (such as 'mali', 'arm_mali', 'mali_kbase', or similar). If not visible via lsmod, examine /sys/module/ for directories starting with 'mali' or 'arm_mali'.
    Affected if Unable to locate a Mali GPU kernel module in the loaded modules or /sys/module/.
  3. Retrieve the installed Mali GPU driver version
    Run 'modinfo <module_name>' where <module_name> is the Mali module identified in step 2. Look for the 'version' or ' vermagic' field which typically displays a string like 'rXXpX' (e.g., r35p0, r38p1).
    Affected if The modinfo command fails or returns no version information for the Mali module.
  4. Compare the installed version against affected ranges
    Parse the version string from step 3. Check if the version falls within: r29p0 <= version < r38p2, OR version == r39p0. For example, r30p0, r35p1, r37p0, r38p1, and r39p0 are all affected. Versions r28p0 or earlier, and r38p2 or later (or r40p0+ for the r39 branch), are not affected.
    Affected if The installed version is r29p0 through r38p1 inclusive, or exactly r39p0.

A system is affected if it runs an Arm Mali GPU with the Valhall kernel driver version in the range r29p0 to r38p1, or exactly r39p0.

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

Upgrade the Mali GPU driver to version r38p2 or later for the r29p0-r38p1 branch, or r40p0 or later for the r39p0 branch. This is a kernel-level driver update that should be tested thoroughly for GPU functionality regressions.

Recommended fix High confidence

r40p0 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver version in use by checking /sys/class/misc/mali0/device/version or via `cat /proc/gpuinfo`
  2. 2. If the version is >= r29p0 and < r38p2, or is exactly r39p0, the system is vulnerable
  3. 3. Obtain the fixed driver package (r38p2 or later for versions up to r38p1; r40p0 or later for r39p0) from Arm's official driver downloads at developer.arm.com or through your device's kernel/package repository
  4. 4. Uninstall or blacklist the current vulnerable mali_kbase.ko kernel module if loaded: `rmmod mali_kbase`
  5. 5. Install the new driver package by loading the updated kernel module: `insmod mali_kbase.ko` or via package manager installation
  6. 6. Verify the new driver version loaded successfully: `cat /sys/class/misc/mali0/device/version`
  7. 7. Confirm the loaded version is >= r38p2 (if previously < r38p2) or >= r40p0 (if previously r39p0)

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

Fix this in Valhall Gpu Kernel Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,400
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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-2022-41757 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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