Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU): information disclosure flaw under attack

What is affected

Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver contains an information disclosure vulnerability that allows a non-privileged user to make valid GPU processing operations that expose sensitive kernel metadata.

What an attacker can do

This is a information disclosure flaw. It lets an attacker read data they are not supposed to see, such as memory contents, credentials or internal files. It is often the first step of a larger attack.

How it is reached

Needs access to the device or a file opened on it

Access the attacker needs

A basic user account

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
2. If you administer Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• developer.arm.comdeveloper.arm.com/Arm%20Security%20Center/Mali%20GPU%20Driver%20Vulnerabilities

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on April 7, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by April 28, 2023, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 1.2% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 68% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 3.3 out of 10 (low), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Memory leak vulnerability in Mali GPU Kernel Driver in Midgard GPU Kernel Driver all versions from r6p0 - r32p0, Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver all versions from r0p0 - r42p0, Valhall GPU Kernel Driver all versions from r19p0 - r42p0, and Avalon GPU Kernel Driver all versions from r41p0 - r42p0 allows a non-privileged user to make valid GPU processing operations that expose sensitive kernel metadata.