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HIGH · CVSS 8.8 CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

CVE-2022-38181

Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows unprivileged users to access freed memory because GPU memory operations are mishandled. This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r38p1, and r39p0; Valhall r19p0 through r38p1, and r39p0; and Midgard r4p0 through r32p0.

CVSS
8.8
HIGH
EPSS
18.5%
30-day exploitation
Ransomware groups
0
recorded exploiting
Published
25 Oct 2022
CWE-416

Exploitation status

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Listed by CISA on 30 March 2023. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 20 April 2023.

EPSS — exploitation probability

FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 18.5%, which is higher than 97.3% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.

CVSS vector

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

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2022-38181 being exploited by ransomware groups?

No ransomware group in this database is currently recorded as exploiting CVE-2022-38181.

What does CVE-2022-38181 affect?

CVE-2022-38181 affects Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows unprivileged users to access freed memory because GPU memory operations are mishandled. This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r38p1, and r39p0; Valhall r19p0 through r38p1, and r39p0; and Midgard r4p0 through r32p0.

How severe is CVE-2022-38181?

CVE-2022-38181 is rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 8.8. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 18.5%, higher than 97.3% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 20 April 2023.

How should organisations respond to CVE-2022-38181?

Apply the vendor patch for Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.