CVE-2021-44828

Local privilege escalation via unchecked CPU writes

Published Jan 14, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper memory access in Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver allows local users to write read-only memory and obtain root privileges. The kbase_kcpu_jit_allocate_process, kbasep_write_soft_event_status, and kbase_jit_allocate_process paths map Mali memory through kbase_vmap and write without checking KBASE_REG_CPU_WR. A non-privileged local process that can submit Mali driver operations can corrupt memory or modify another process's memory; affected releases are Midgard r26p0 through r30p0, Bifrost r0p0 through r34p0, and Valhall r19p0 through r34p0.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper memory access in Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver allows local users to write read-only memory and obtain root privileges. The kbase_kcpu_jit_allocate_process, kbasep_write_soft_event_status, and kbase_jit_allocate_process paths map Mali memory through kbase_vmap and write without checking KBASE_REG_CPU_WR. A non-privileged local process that can submit Mali driver operations can corrupt memory or modify another process's memory; affected releases are Midgard r26p0 through r30p0, Bifrost r0p0 through r34p0, and Valhall r19p0 through r34p0.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-44828
Published
Jan 14, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-787, T1404, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 14, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1404Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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