CVE-2022-20186Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via stale GPU page mapping

Published Jun 15, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Use-after-free in the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver for Android kernel allows local users to execute arbitrary kernel code via GPU memory aliases. kbase_mem_alias retains a page-table reference after aliased regions release the backing page, allowing GPU reads and writes to memory later reallocated to another process. An untrusted Android app can reach the driver without user interaction and use the resulting physical-memory access to gain root and disable SELinux.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.51%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver for Android kernel allows local users to execute arbitrary kernel code via GPU memory aliases. kbase_mem_alias retains a page-table reference after aliased regions release the backing page, allowing GPU reads and writes to memory later reallocated to another process. An untrusted Android app can reach the driver without user interaction and use the resulting physical-memory access to gain root and disable SELinux.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-20186
Published
Jun 15, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Arm
Product
Mali
Classifications
CWE-20, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 15, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 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?

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  1. Affected versionversion=Android kernel

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Arm · Maliversion=Android kernel

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.0/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.

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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
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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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