Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-28664 is a high-severity Arm Mali GPU kernel driver flaw. An unprivileged user may gain read/write access to protected memory pages, enabling privilege escalation or denial of service. CISA lists it in KEV, so treat it as known exploited and prioritize affected devices.
Executive priority
High priority. This is a known exploited kernel driver vulnerability with privilege escalation impact. Focus first on mobile, embedded, and appliance fleets where OEM firmware updates may lag or driver versions are hard to see.
Technical view
The issue is memory corruption, mapped to CWE-787, in Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers. Affected ranges are Bifrost r0p0-r29p0 before r30p0, Valhall r19p0-r29p0 before r30p0, and Midgard r8p0-r30p0 before r31p0. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on devices or products using vulnerable Arm Mali GPU kernel driver branches. The source bundle does not identify specific OEM devices, operating systems, or CPEs, so asset owners must map deployed hardware, firmware, and driver versions to Arm’s affected ranges.
Exploitation context
Active exploitation is supported by the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities listing. The public bundle does not provide exploit details, affected campaigns, or whether exploitation requires a local app, remote service path, or specific device configuration.
Researcher notes
The source bundle’s affected product fields are n/a, so product attribution must come from Arm and OEM advisories. The CVSS vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N, but the description centers on unprivileged user access to protected pages; validate exposure per platform.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Bifrost and Valhall Mali drivers to r30p0 or later.
- Upgrade Midgard Mali drivers to r31p0 or later.
- Apply OEM firmware or security updates that include the fixed Mali driver.
- Check Arm and device-vendor advisories for product-specific remediation guidance.
- Prioritize KEV-required remediation timelines for internet-exposed or high-risk device fleets.
Validation and detection
- Inventory devices using Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers.
- Record GPU family and exact driver revision for each affected platform.
- Compare driver revisions against Arm’s affected version ranges.
- Confirm OEM firmware updates include the fixed Mali driver branch.
- Track CISA KEV status in vulnerability management reporting.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-28664 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updatesCVE reference
- https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates/mali-gpu-kernel-driverCVE reference
- https://developer.arm.com/Arm%20Security%20Center/Mali%20GPU%20Driver%20VulnerabilitiesCVE reference
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-28664CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.