CVE-2023-26083

A memory leak (CWE-401) in Arm's Mali GPU kernel drivers affects Midgard (all versions r6p0-r32p0), Bifrost (all versions r0p0-r42p0), Valhall (all versions r19p0-r42p0), and Avalon (r41p0-r42p0), allowing a non-privileged local user to perform valid GPU processing operations that expose sensitive kernel metadata. A local attacker or app on an affected device gains an information-disclosure primitive that reads otherwise protected kernel memory (CVSS 3.1 base score 3.3, confidentiality impact only), potentially aiding further attacks. Exposure applies to any device whose CPU incorporates an affected Mali GPU and runs the corresponding driver, most commonly Android smartphones and tablets built on licensed Mali designs. The flaw is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-04-07), indicating active exploitation, and Arm has issued patched drivers, with fixes also delivered through vendor/Android update channels; ransomware use is unknown.

What to do: Apply Arm's patched Mali kernel driver releases (versions beyond the affected ranges) via your SoC/OEM vendor, and on Android devices install the latest Google/OEM security updates, per CISA's required action. Inventory fleets for devices running affected Mali driver generations (Android phones, tablets, and embedded/edge devices) and confirm they receive the fixed driver; note that patching is mandatory for U.S. federal agencies under the KEV program despite the low severity of this local information-disclosure flaw.