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Bifrost Gpu Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2023-5249

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Use After Free vulnerability in Arm Ltd Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver, Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver allows a local non-privileged user to make improper memory processing operations to exploit a software race condition. If the system’s memory is carefully prepared by the user, then this in turn cause a use-after-free.This issue affects Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: from r35p0 through r40p0; Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r35p0 through 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

Use After Free vulnerability in Arm's Bifrost and Valhall GPU kernel drivers (r35p0-r40p0). A local non-privileged user can exploit a software race condition through carefully prepared memory operations to trigger a use-after-free, potentially leading to local privilege escalation or denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade GPU kernel drivers to a version beyond r40p0 that contains the fix. Monitor for any available security advisories from the GPU driver vendor or Linux distribution for patch availability.

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:>= r35p0, <= r40p0
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r35p0, <= r40p0

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
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 an Arm Mali GPU is present
    Run `lspci | grep -i vga` or `lspci | grep -i gpu` to list graphics hardware. Look for 'Mali' or 'Arm' in the output.
    Affected if No Arm Mali GPU is found in the system, then the driver is not present and this CVE does not apply.
  2. Check if the Arm GPU kernel driver is loaded
    Run `lsmod | grep -i mali` or `cat /proc/modules | grep -i mali` to list loaded kernel modules related to Mali GPU.
    Affected if If no Mali-related kernel module is loaded, the driver is not active and the vulnerability is not exploitable.
  3. Obtain the installed GPU driver version
    Use `modinfo <mali_driver_module_name>` to retrieve version information. The module name is typically displayed in the lsmod output from the previous step.
    Affected if The driver version falls within the range r35p0 through r40p0 (inclusive). Compare the 'version' or 'srcversion' field from modinfo output against these version strings.
  4. Verify driver version through sysfs or debugfs
    Check /sys/class/drm/ for card device info or examine /var/log/dmesg for driver loading messages that may contain version strings.
    Affected if Driver version strings in logs or sysfs attributes show a version between r35p0 and r40p0.

A system is affected if it has an Arm Mali GPU with the Bifrost or Valhall kernel driver loaded, and the driver version is between r35p0 and r40p0 inclusive.

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 GPU kernel drivers to a version beyond r40p0 that contains the fix. Monitor for any available security advisories from the GPU driver vendor or Linux distribution for patch availability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

r41p0 or later (any release after r40p0)

  1. 1. Identify the current Arm Mali GPU kernel driver version in use by checking /sys/class/misc/mali0/device/driver/version or using `lsmod | grep mali`
  2. 2. Confirm the driver version falls within the affected range: r35p0 through r40p0
  3. 3. Update the GPU kernel driver package to a version newer than r40p0. For Ubuntu/Debian systems, run: `sudo apt update && sudo apt install linux-image-<new-version>`. For other distributions, use the distribution's kernel package manager
  4. 4. Reboot the system to load the new driver
  5. 5. Verify the new driver version is installed and loaded: `modinfo mali` or check the version file as in step 1

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
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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-2023-5249 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data