CVE-2022-38181 Arm CVE debrief

Who should care

Organizations that manage systems, devices, or firmware using the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver should pay close attention, including OEMs, fleet operators, and teams responsible for mobile, embedded, or other Arm-based devices.

Technical summary

The available source material identifies a use-after-free condition in the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver. CISA classifies the issue as known exploited by including it in KEV, but the supplied corpus does not provide exploit details, affected versions, or impact specifics beyond the vulnerability type and product area.

Defensive priority

High / urgent. CISA’s KEV designation indicates active exploitation concern and a required remediation deadline of 2023-04-20 in the catalog entry.

Recommended defensive actions

• Apply updates per vendor instructions as soon as possible.
• Inventory devices and software that use the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver.
• Track the Arm Security Center guidance referenced by CISA for product-specific remediation steps.
• Validate that updates were applied across managed fleets and OEM-supported devices.
• Monitor CISA KEV and vendor advisories for any follow-up guidance or revised remediation instructions.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and title describe a use-after-free vulnerability in the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver. CISA’s KEV metadata lists Arm as the vendor project, Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as the product, and notes the required action: apply updates per vendor instructions. The KEV entry was added on 2023-03-30 with a due date of 2023-04-20. The supplied corpus also references the official Arm Security Center Mali GPU Driver Vulnerabilities page and the NVD CVE detail page.

Official resources