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5th Gen Gpu Architecture Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2025-3212

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 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 memory processing operations to gain access to already freed memory.This issue affects Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p4, from r50p0 through r51p0; Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r41p0 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

Use After Free vulnerability in Arm GPU kernel drivers (Bifrost, Valhall, 5th Gen) allows a local non-privileged user process to perform GPU memory operations to access already-freed memory. The flaw exists across multiple driver version ranges from r41p0 through r54p0 depending on the GPU architecture.

MitigationApply vendor-provided driver patches from Arm Ltd to update to a fixed version outside the affected version ranges. This is a kernel-level driver issue requiring driver updates rather than configuration changes.

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, <= r49p4>= r50p0, < r54p1
Bifrost Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r41p0, <= r49p4>= r50p0, < r54p1
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r41p0, <= r49p4>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

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 loaded Arm GPU kernel driver
    Run 'lsmod | grep -i mali' or check '/proc/modules' for GPU-related kernel modules such as mali_kbase, panfrost, or other Arm Mali GPU drivers
    Affected if No Arm GPU kernel module is loaded, then the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability
  2. Retrieve the driver version
    Use 'modinfo <module_name>' (e.g., modinfo mali_kbase) and look for the 'version' or 'srcversion' field, or check '/sys/module/<module_name>/version'
    Affected if The driver version cannot be determined, proceed to step 3 with available version info
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Parse the version string (format: rXXpY) from modinfo output and compare numerically. The affected ranges are: r41p0 to r49p4 inclusive, OR r50p0 to r54p0 inclusive
    Affected if The installed version falls within r41p0 through r49p4 OR r50p0 through r54p0, the environment is likely affected by this Use After Free vulnerability

A system is affected if it loads an Arm GPU kernel driver (Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen architecture) with a version matching r41p0-r49p4 or r50p0-r54p0.

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-provided driver patches from Arm Ltd to update to a fixed version outside the affected version ranges. This is a kernel-level driver issue requiring driver updates rather than configuration changes.

Recommended fix High confidence

r54p1 or later for Bifrost, Valhall, and 5th Gen GPU Architecture drivers

  1. Identify which Arm GPU kernel driver(s) are in use (Bifrost, Valhall, or 5th Gen Architecture)
  2. Check current driver version using system utilities or driver information
  3. Upgrade the Arm GPU kernel driver to version r54p1 or later
  4. Reboot the system or reload the kernel module to apply the updated driver
  5. Verify the driver version has been successfully updated post-reboot
Caveat Upgrading kernel drivers may require system reboot; ensure compatibility with other system components

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
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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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-2025-3212 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
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