Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain local code execution (e.g., malicious app)
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DeliveryIssue valid GPU memory processing operations to kernel driver
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ExploitTrigger use-after-free in Bifrost/Valhall/5th Gen driver
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ExecutionAccess freed kernel memory region
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ImpactRead residual sensitive data from prior allocation
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires local code execution on a device running one of the affected Arm Mali GPU kernel driver versions (Bifrost r41p0-r51p0/r54p1-r54p2, Valhall r41p0-r55p0, or 5th Gen r41p0-r55p0). No elevated privileges are required - the vulnerability is exploitable by any user-space process with access to the GPU driver interface, including sandboxed Android applications. No network access, user interaction, or special configuration is required. Exploitation is limited to local information disclosure (reading freed memory); remote exploitation is not possible given AV:L. The availability of a GPU on the device and an affected driver version are the only prerequisites. |
| Impact | The vendor-provided CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) scores this at 4.0 - a local, low-complexity attack with only limited confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability consequence. The PR:N rating with AV:L is notable: it suggests even sandboxed or minimally privileged processes can trigger the flaw, which is plausible for GPU driver interfaces exposed to user-space apps. EPSS at 0.14% (4th percentile) indicates very low exploitation probability in the near term. No KEV entry and no public exploit code have been identified. The 'Denial Of Service' tag in the metadata suggests DoS potential (kernel crash from UAF), which is not reflected in the vendor's CVSS A:N rating - this is a discrepancy worth noting. The practical threat on Android mobile devices is a malicious app reading freed kernel memory to extract sensitive data from prior GPU operations (e.g., frame buffer residues, prior process data). The attack complexity is genuinely low once local code execution exists. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A malicious Android application with no special permissions installs on a device using a Bifrost or Valhall GPU (e.g., a Samsung Exynos or MediaTek device). The app issues a sequence of valid GPU memory processing operations that trigger a use-after-free condition in the kernel driver, then reads the freed memory region to extract residual data - potentially including fragments of GPU frame buffers or kernel heap content from prior processes. No public exploit code exists at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 10, 2026
Use-after-free in Arm's Bifrost, Valhall, and 5th Gen GPU Architecture kernel drivers allows an unprivileged local process to access already freed kernel memory, leaking limited sensitive data. The flaw is triggered through valid GPU memory processing operations, requiring no special privileges beyond local code execution - a realistic threat on mobile devices running affected Mali GPU firmware. With EPSS at 0.14% and no public exploit or KEV listing, active exploitation is not currently observed, but the breadth of affected versions across three GPU families and many Android SoC generations elevates overall exposure.
RemediationAI
Consult the Arm security advisory at https://support.arm.com/documentation/111552/1-0/?lang=en for exact fixed driver versions, as the provided data specifies affected ranges but does not enumerate fixed release numbers directly. For Bifrost, versions outside the affected ranges (e.g., r52p0-r53p0 or r54p3+) are likely safe; for Valhall and 5th Gen, versions beyond r54p3 and r55p0 are indicated as outside the affected range. Device vendors (OEM/ODM) must integrate updated Mali driver packages into their kernel builds and deliver these via platform security updates - end users should apply the latest OS security patch for their device. No workaround is available for this kernel driver flaw short of restricting access to GPU-enabled applications, which would broadly impact device usability.
Affected VersionsENISA
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Arm's Mali GPU kernel drivers (Bifrost, Valhall, and 5th Generation Architecture) manage GPU memory operations from kernel space on behalf of unprivileged user processes. CWE-416 (Use After Free) indicates that the driver fails to properly validate memory object liveness before dereferencing pointers to freed GPU memory regions. When a user-space process issues valid GPU memory processing operations, a race or sequencing flaw in the driver allows access to already-freed kernel memory, potentially exposing data from prior allocations. The affected CPEs are cpe:2.3:a:arm_ltd:bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver, cpe:2.3:a:arm_ltd:valhall_gpu_kernel_driver, and cpe:2.3:a:arm_ltd:arm_5th_gen_gpu_architecture_kernel_driver. These drivers ship in SoCs such as Samsung Exynos and MediaTek Dimensity devices, embedded in the Linux/Android kernel build for the device.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
PR:L over vendor PR:N because exploitation requires a local authenticated user process; A:L added since UAF in kernel drivers can cause crashes.
Primary rating from Vendor (Arm).
CVSS VectorVendor: Arm
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
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 access already freed memory.
This issue affects Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p5, from r50p0 through r51p0, from r54p1 through r54p2; Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p5, from r50p0 through r54p3, r55p0; Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p5, from r50p0 through r54p3, r55p0.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
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EUVD-2026-72802
GHSA-93gh-276f-pjg8
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB