CVE-2023-33200: Mali GPU Kernel Driver Allows Improper GPU Memory Processing Operations
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 18/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.22% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
- Fixed version: Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver r44p1; Arm Ltd Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver r44p1; Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver r44p1.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver r44p1; Arm Ltd Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver r44p1; Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver r44p1 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
A local non-privileged user can make improper GPU processing operations to exploit a software race condition. If the system’s memory is carefully prepared by the user, then this in turn could give them access to already freed memory.
- Published
- Oct 3, 2023
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.2% · 13th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-416
Report tools
Action score
18
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 18 / 40 · 4.7 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.2%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| arm | bifrost gpu kernel driver | cpe:2.3:a:arm:bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver |
| arm | mali gpu kernel driver | cpe:2.3:a:arm:mali_gpu_kernel_driver |
| arm | valhall gpu kernel driver | cpe:2.3:a:arm:valhall_gpu_kernel_driver |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- arm bifrost gpu kernel driverr17p0 and later · before r44p1
- arm mali gpu kernel driverr41p0 and later · before r44p1
- arm valhall gpu kernel driverr19p0 and later · before r44p1
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Arm). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver
- r41p0 and later · before r44p1affected · patchfixed in r44p1
Arm Ltd Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver
- r17p0 and later · before r44p1affected · patchfixed in r44p1
Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver
- r19p0 and later · before r44p1affected · patchfixed in r44p1
Same product
arm: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2022-38181The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows unprivileged users to access freed memory because GPU memory operations are mishandled.KEV71This week
- CVE-2021-28663The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading tKEV69This week
- CVE-2021-28664The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or a denial of service (memory corruption) because an unprivileged user can achieKEV67This week
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-36449Aug 31, 2022 · An issue was discovered in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver.26Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2022-46891Jan 17, 2023 · An issue was discovered in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver.35Monitor
- Later →CVE-2023-4272Nov 7, 2023 · Mali GPU Kernel Driver exposes sensitive data from freed memory22Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver | r44p1 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Arm Ltd Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver | r44p1 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver | r44p1 | Vendor (CNA) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- High
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-416 · Use After FreeCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Root cause
After a memory region is freed, another reference pointing to it is still used. By then, the same region may have been allocated for different data.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-416 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
free(dev->buf);
/* ... another thread is still running ... */
process(dev->buf);Fixed
lock(&dev->lock);
free(dev->buf);
dev->buf = NULL;
unlock(&dev->lock);Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.