CVE-2022-38181

Exp

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.

Published: 2022-10-25 Last update: 2025-11-03 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published

View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

Threat Intelligence & Risk Assessment for CVE-2022-38181

KEV EPSS CVSS CWE Exploit-DB Affected

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-38181 is rated Critical Active Threat (88.7/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 12.59%, 96th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2023-03-30) affecting Arm / Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). a weakness (CWE-416) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2022-38181

Name: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Use-After-Free Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2023-03-30

Action due: 2023-04-20

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2022-38181

EDB-ID	Source	Kind	Published	Link
—	nvd_ref	exploit_tag		Exploit-DB ↗
—	nvd_ref	exploit_tag		Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-38181

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	24.55%	12.59%	-11.96%
2	2026-06-07	25.02%	24.55%	-0.48%
3	2026-05-25	—	25.02%	—

Full EPSS history (47 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-38181

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
8.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	2.8	5.9	[email protected]
8.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	2.8	5.9	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-38181

CWE-416 MITRE ↗

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-38181

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
arm	bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver	>= r0p0, <= r38p1	cpe:2.3:a:arm:bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver::::::::
arm	bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver	r39p0	cpe:2.3:a:arm:bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver:r39p0:::::::*
arm	midgard_gpu_kernel_driver	>= r4p0, <= r31p0	cpe:2.3:a:arm:midgard_gpu_kernel_driver::::::::
arm	valhall_gpu_kernel_driver	>= r19p0, <= r38p1	cpe:2.3:a:arm:valhall_gpu_kernel_driver::::::::
arm	valhall_gpu_kernel_driver	r39p0	cpe:2.3:a:arm:valhall_gpu_kernel_driver:r39p0:::::::*

References for CVE-2022-38181

URL	Tags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172854/Android-Arm-Mali-GPU-Arbitrary-Code-Execution.html	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://developer.arm.com/Arm%20Security%20Center/Mali%20GPU%20Driver%20Vulnerabilities	Vendor Advisory
https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates	Vendor Advisory
https://github.blog/2023-01-23-pwning-the-all-google-phone-with-a-non-google-bug/	Exploit Third Party Advisory
https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2022-054_Arm_Mali/	Exploit Third Party Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-38181	US Government Resource

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