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5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2023-6143

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Use After Free vulnerability in Arm Ltd Midgard GPU Kernel Driver, Arm Ltd Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver, Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver, Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver allows a local non-privileged user to exploit a software race condition to perform improper memory processing operations. If the system’s memory is carefully prepared by the user and the system is under heavy load, then this in turn cause a use-after-free.This issue affects Midgard GPU Kernel Driver: from r13p0 through r32p0; Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: from r1p0 through r18p0; Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r37p0 through r46p0; Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r46p0.

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 multiple Arm GPU kernel drivers (Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, and 5th Gen architectures) allows a local non-privileged user to exploit a race condition with carefully prepared memory under system load, potentially achieving arbitrary memory read/write capabilities.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches to update affected GPU kernel drivers to versions beyond r32p0 (Midgard), r18p0 (Bifrost), r46p0 (Valhall), and r46p0 (5th Gen). Until patches are available, restrict local user access to GPU resources and monitor for exploitation indicators.

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
5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r41p0, < r47p0
Bifrost Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r1p0, < r19p0
Midgard Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r13p0, <= r32p0
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r37p0, < r47p0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Identify Arm GPU hardware present
    Run 'lspci | grep -i arm' or 'lsmod | grep -i mali' to list Arm Mali GPU devices and loaded GPU kernel modules
    Affected if No Arm GPU hardware or Mali GPU drivers are found, then the system is not affected
  2. Determine the GPU driver architecture in use
    Check loaded GPU kernel modules with 'lsmod' and identify whether it is Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen architecture driver (typically named 'mali' or similar Mali GPU kernel modules)
    Affected if The system uses a Mali GPU driver for Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen architectures
  3. Retrieve the installed driver version
    Use 'modinfo <driver_module_name>' to obtain the driver version (for example: 'modinfo mali' or 'modinfo mali_kbase'), or check version in /sys/module/<driver_name>/version
    Affected if The driver version falls within the affected ranges: 5th Gen (>= r41p0, < r47p0), Bifrost (>= r1p0, < r19p0), Midgard (>= r13p0, <= r32p0), or Valhall (>= r37p0, < r47p0)
  4. Check for unprivileged GPU access
    Review /dev/ and /sys/class/drm/ permissions for GPU device nodes, and check group membership of users to determine if non-privileged local users can access GPU resources
    Affected if Non-privileged local users have direct access to GPU device nodes without additional controls

The system is affected if it runs any Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen Arm GPU driver with a version matching the affected ranges and non-privileged users can access the GPU devices.

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

Apply vendor-supplied patches to update affected GPU kernel drivers to versions beyond r32p0 (Midgard), r18p0 (Bifrost), r46p0 (Valhall), and r46p0 (5th Gen). Until patches are available, restrict local user access to GPU resources and monitor for exploitation indicators.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Bifrost: r19p0; Valhall: r47p0; 5th Gen: r47p0; Midgard: contact Arm Ltd for patched version

  1. 1. Identify the specific Arm GPU kernel driver in use (Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen) by checking the driver version with 'cat /sys/class/drm/*/device/uevent' or 'lsmod | grep mali'
  2. 2. For Bifrost GPU Driver: upgrade to version r19p0 or later
  3. 3. For Valhall GPU Driver: upgrade to version r47p0 or later
  4. 4. For 5th Gen GPU Architecture Driver: upgrade to version r47p0 or later
  5. 5. For Midgard GPU Driver: contact Arm for a patched version; no fixed version is documented in the advisory (upstream support may have ended at r32p0)
  6. 6. After upgrading, verify the new driver version loads correctly and the system boots normally
Caveat Midgard driver may be end-of-life with no fix available; ensure compatibility with your kernel version before upgrading other drivers

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

Fix this in 5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-6143 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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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data