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5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2025-0427

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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, Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver allows a local non-privileged user process to perform valid GPU processing operations to gain access to already freed memory.This issue affects Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: from r8p0 through r49p3, from r50p0 through r51p0; Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r19p0 through r49p3, from r50p0 through r53p0; Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p3, from r50p0 through r53p0.

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

A Use After Free vulnerability exists in Arm's Bifrost, Valhall, and 5th Gen GPU kernel drivers. A local non-privileged user process can perform valid GPU processing operations to trigger the driver to access memory that has already been freed, potentially leading to privilege escalation or information disclosure.

MitigationUpdate GPU drivers to versions beyond the affected ranges (r49p3 for Bifrost, r53p0 for Valhall/Arm 5th Gen). For systems where vendor updates are unavailable, consider restricting access to GPU rendering capabilities or implementing additional process isolation.

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, <= r49p3>= r50p0, <= r53p0
Bifrost Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r8p0, <= r49p3>= r50p0, <= r51p0
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r19p0, <= r49p3>= r50p0, <= r53p0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 Arm GPU hardware in the system
    Run 'lspci | grep -i arm' or 'cat /proc/device-tree/compatible' on embedded systems to list GPU devices. Check /sys/class/drm/card*/device for device information on systems with DRM.
    Affected if No Arm Mali GPU is present - the system is not affected by this CVE.
  2. Locate the loaded Arm GPU kernel driver
    Run 'lsmod | grep -E "(mali|bifrost|valhall)"' to list loaded GPU kernel modules. Also check /sys/module/ for directories starting with 'mali' or 'bifrost'.
    Affected if No Mali, Bifrost, or Valhall kernel modules are loaded - the vulnerability cannot be triggered.
  3. Determine the installed driver version
    Run 'modinfo <module_name>' where <module_name> is the GPU module found (e.g., mali_kbase, panfrost). The output shows 'version' or ' vermagic' fields. On Android, check /vendor/lib/modules/ or use 'cat /sys/module/<module_name>/version'.
    Affected if Unable to determine driver version - treat as potentially affected.
  4. Compare driver version against affected ranges
    For Bifrost: versions r8p0 through r49p3 AND r50p0 through r51p0 are affected. For Valhall: versions r19p0 through r49p3 AND r50p0 through r53p0 are affected. For Arm 5th Gen: versions r41p0 through r49p3 AND r50p0 through r53p0 are affected. Match the installed driver version to these ranges.
  5. Verify if GPU processing is accessible to non-privileged users
    Check /dev/dri/* permissions with 'ls -la /dev/dri/*' and review /etc/group for graphics group membership. Determine if local users can submit GPU work without elevated privileges.
    Affected if Non-privileged local users can access GPU rendering - the attack vector is present.

The system is affected if it has an Arm Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen GPU with a kernel driver version within the specified affected ranges AND non-privileged users have access to GPU processing capabilities.

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 GPU drivers to versions beyond the affected ranges (r49p3 for Bifrost, r53p0 for Valhall/Arm 5th Gen). For systems where vendor updates are unavailable, consider restricting access to GPU rendering capabilities or implementing additional process isolation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Bifrost: r52p0 or later; Valhall: r54p0 or later; 5th Gen GPU: r54p0 or later

  1. 1. Identify the specific Arm Mali GPU kernel driver currently in use (Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen) by checking /sys/class/misc/mali0/device/driver or using 'lsmod | grep mali'
  2. 2. Determine the exact driver version using 'cat /sys/class/misc/mali0/device/driver_version' or checking the kernel module info
  3. 3. If running Bifrost driver (r8p0-r49p3 or r50p0-r51p0), upgrade to r52p0 or later
  4. 4. If running Valhall driver (r19p0-r49p3 or r50p0-r53p0), upgrade to r54p0 or later
  5. 5. If running 5th Gen GPU driver (r41p0-r49p3 or r50p0-r53p0), upgrade to r54p0 or later
  6. 6. Obtain the fixed driver from Arm's official developer website (developer.arm.com) or through your device/system vendor's kernel update channel
  7. 7. Apply the driver update via standard kernel module update procedure or system firmware update, then reboot the system
Caveat Driver updates may require kernel compatibility checks; ensure the new driver version is supported by your kernel version before upgrading

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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2025-0427 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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