What it is
CVE-2021-28663 is a vulnerability affecting Arm Mali GPU kernel driver. The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading to a...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2021-28663
Mali GPU kernel driver Privilege Escalation
Arm / Mali GPU kernel driver · 0 to <= r28p0
- Severity
- CVSS 8.8 · High
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 12.1%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Arm / Mali GPU kernel driver 0 to <= r28p0.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
Mali GPU kernel driver Privilege Escalation
The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading to a use-after-free.
This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, Valhall r19p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, and Midgard r4p0 through r30p0.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
arm
bifrost_gpu_kernel_driver
Through r28p0
Affected
arm
valhall_gpu_kernel_driver
Through r28p0
Affected
arm
midgard_gpu_kernel_driver
Through r30p0
Affected
n/a
n/a
n/a
Affected
- Published
- 10 May 2021
- Exploitation Reported
- 03 Nov 2021
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
Tags
cisa
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-28663
- developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates developer.arm.com · CVE Record https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates
- developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates/mali-gpu-kernel... developer.arm.com · CVE Record https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates/mali-gpu-kerne...
- GitHub — lntrx/CVE-2021-28663 github.com · CVE Record https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Proof of concept available
GitHub
Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2021-11-03 00:00 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
8.8
High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
12.1%
Weaknesses
All CVSS Scores
CVSS v3.1
8.8
High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2.0
9.0
High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
Potential Proof of Concepts
These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.
lntrx/CVE-2021-28663
github · Created 2021-09-01 22:59:29 UTC · 121 stars · AI assessment 90%
A basic PoC leak for CVE-2021-28663 (Internal of the Android kernel backdoor vulnerability)
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
Public PoC available
Public proof-of-concept code published
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-28663
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2021-28663",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 8.8,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.12084,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.