dbcve.org
5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2023-6241

HIGH · 7.0 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 →
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 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, 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 r11p0 through r25p0; Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r19p0 through r25p0, from r29p0 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 Arm Ltd GPU Kernel Drivers (Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, and 5th Gen) caused by a race condition allowing local non-privileged users to perform improper memory operations, potentially leading to memory corruption and privilege escalation.

MitigationApply vendor patches to update affected GPU drivers to versions beyond r32p0 (Midgard), r25p0 (Bifrost), r46p0 (Valhall), or r46p0 (5th Gen). If patches unavailable, restrict local user access to GPU resources.

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:>= r11p0, < r26p0
Midgard Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r13p0, <= r32p0
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r19p0, < r26p0>= r29p0, < 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
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 Arm GPU driver is in use
    Run 'lspci -k | grep -i -A3 vga' or 'lsmod | grep -i mali' to check for Arm Mali GPU kernel modules loaded in the system
    Affected if No Arm Mali driver module is found, then the system is not using affected GPU drivers
  2. Determine the specific Arm GPU driver module name
    Check /sys/module/ for subdirectories containing 'mali', 'bifrost', 'valhall', or 'midgard', or examine output from 'ls -la /sys/class/drm/' for GPU device entries
    Affected if Unable to locate Arm GPU kernel module in system
  3. Retrieve the driver version
    Read the 'version' file in the driver's sysfs directory, for example: 'cat /sys/module/mali/version' or 'modinfo <mali_driver_module_name> | grep version'
    Affected if No version file found or version cannot be determined
  4. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Match the retrieved version against: 5th Gen (>= r41p0, < r47p0), Bifrost (>= r11p0, < r26p0), Midgard (>= r13p0, <= r32p0), Valhall (>= r19p0, < r26p0 OR >= r29p0, < r47p0)
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the listed affected version ranges for the detected GPU architecture

A user is affected if their system runs an Arm Mali GPU kernel driver matching one of the four architectures (Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, 5th Gen) at a version that falls within the specific vulnerable ranges for that architecture.

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 patches to update affected GPU drivers to versions beyond r32p0 (Midgard), r25p0 (Bifrost), r46p0 (Valhall), or r46p0 (5th Gen). If patches unavailable, restrict local user access to GPU resources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to r47p0 (5th Gen/Bifrost/Valhall r29+) or r26p0 (Bifrost/Valhall r19-r25); Midgard users should contact Arm for a fixed release beyond r32p0

  1. Identify the specific Arm GPU kernel driver in use (Midgard, Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen) using `modinfo` or system documentation
  2. Check the current driver version using `cat /sys/module/<driver_name>/version` or `lsmod` to confirm it falls within the affected version ranges
  3. For 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: upgrade to version r47p0 or later
  4. For Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: upgrade to version r26p0 or later
  5. For Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: upgrade to version r26p0 (for r19p0-r25p0 range) or r47p0 or later (for r29p0-r46p0 range)
  6. For Midgard GPU Kernel Driver: upgrade to a version beyond r32p0 where the fix is incorporated (contact Arm for specific fixed release)
  7. Reboot the system or reload the driver module to apply the updated kernel driver
  8. Verify the new driver version is loaded and no longer within the vulnerable version ranges
Caveat No breaking changes typically expected for minor version upgrades within same driver architecture; however, verify compatibility with your kernel version and system configuration

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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,300
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,680.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-6241 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-6241 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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