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5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2025-2879

MEDIUM · 5.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
56/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver, Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver allows a local non-privileged user process to perform improper GPU processing operations to expose sensitive data.This issue affects Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r29p0 through r49p4, from r50p0 through r54p0; Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p4, from r50p0 through r54p0.

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

Arm Valhall and Arm 5th Gen GPU kernel drivers contain a vulnerability allowing local non-privileged user processes to perform improper GPU processing operations that expose sensitive data. The flaw exists in the GPU kernel driver code and affects specific version ranges from r29p0 through r54p0 for Valhall and r41p0 through r54p0 for 5th Gen architecture.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied driver updates beyond r54p0 for affected GPU kernel drivers. Until patched, limit local unprivileged access to systems with affected Arm GPU hardware.

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, < r49p5>= r50p0, < r54p1
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r29p0, < r49p5>= r50p0, < r54p1

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
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 or check /sys/class/drm for Arm GPU devices, or review system hardware documentation to confirm the presence of an Arm Valhall or Arm 5th Gen GPU
    Affected if No Arm GPU hardware is present - the system is not affected by this CVE
  2. Determine the installed Arm GPU kernel driver version
    Use modinfo on the Mali GPU kernel module (typically named mali_kbase or similar), or check the driver version via /sys/module/*/version, or run dmesg | grep -i mali to find driver load messages showing the version
    Affected if Unable to determine the driver version - manual verification required
  3. Compare driver version against affected Valhall range
    If using a Valhall GPU driver, verify if the version falls within >= r29p0 and < r49p5, or >= r50p0 and < r54p1. These are the affected version ranges for Valhall architecture
    Affected if Driver version is r29p0 or higher but below r49p5, OR r50p0 or higher but below r54p1 - the system is affected
  4. Compare driver version against affected 5th Gen range
    If using a 5th Gen GPU driver, verify if the version falls within >= r41p0 and < r49p5, or >= r50p0 and < r54p1. These are the affected version ranges for 5th Gen architecture
    Affected if Driver version is r41p0 or higher but below r49p5, OR r50p0 or higher but below r54p1 - the system is affected
  5. Check for unprivileged local user access to GPU
    Review /dev/mali* or /dev/dri/* device permissions, and check group memberships of local users to determine if non-privileged users can access the Arm GPU device nodes
    Affected if Unprivileged local users have access to the GPU device - combined with an affected driver version, they can exploit this vulnerability

The environment is affected if the system contains Arm Valhall or Arm 5th Gen GPU hardware with a kernel driver version matching the ranges r29p0 to r49p5, r50p0 to r54p0, or r54p1 (for Valhall) or r41p0 to r49p5, r50p0 to r54p0, or r54p1 (for 5th Gen), and unprivileged local users can access the GPU device.

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 driver updates beyond r54p0 for affected GPU kernel drivers. Until patched, limit local unprivileged access to systems with affected Arm GPU hardware.

Recommended fix High confidence

r54p1 or later (minimum fixed versions: r49p5 for older branch, r54p1 for newer branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Arm GPU kernel driver version using system diagnostics or driver enumeration tools
  2. 2. For systems running 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: upgrade to version r49p5 or later (if moving from <r49p5), or to r54p1 or later (if moving from >=r50p0 and <r54p1)
  3. 3. For systems running Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: upgrade to version r49p5 or later (if moving from <r49p5), or to r54p1 or later (if moving from >=r50p0 and <r54p1)
  4. 4. Obtain the driver package from Arm's official developer portal (developer.arm.com) or your hardware vendor's driver distribution channel
  5. 5. Follow standard kernel driver update procedures for your Linux/Android distribution to install the new driver version
  6. 6. Reboot the system or reload the kernel module as required by the update process
  7. 7. Verify the new driver version is loaded correctly and matches the expected fixed release
Caveat Review release notes for r49p5/r54p1 for any API changes or kernel compatibility requirements 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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2025-2879 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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