Apple M1 GPUs retain register file data between compute shader dispatches from different...

Description

Apple M1 GPUs retain register file data between compute shader dispatches from different processes. A sandboxed Metal attacker app can run a GPU reader shader that reads stale register values left by a separate sandboxed victim app. In the proof of concept, GPUVictim.app generates a fresh random 128-bit secret using SecRandomCopyBytes and loads it into GPU registers. GPUAttacker.app, a separate sandboxed app, recovers the exact secret from stale GPU register state. NOTE: The vendor stated that this behavior affects only legacy hardware and has already been addressed at the hardware level in current-generation Apple Silicon.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-06-24 18:32:39 UTC
Updated
2026-06-24 18:32:42 UTC
NVD published
2026-06-24

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.30% 21.85%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
8.6 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N 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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence