CVE-2021-29256: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Use-After-Free Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on , 774 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 3%
EPSS score, percentile 87.3 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 8.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline . Apply updates per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if updates are unavailable.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if updates are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: .
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://developer.arm.com/Arm%20Security%20Center/Mali%20GPU%20Driver%20Vulnerabilities
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-29256
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
About this vulnerability
Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver contains a use-after-free vulnerability that may allow a non-privileged user to gain root privilege and/or disclose information.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of .
- CISA added CVE-2021-29256 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 7 Jul 2023.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 28 Jul 2023.
- The CVE record was published on 24 May 2021, 774 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3% (percentile 87.3), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of . About the data.
Description
. The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows an unprivileged user to achieve access to freed memory, leading to information disclosure or root privilege escalation. This affects Bifrost r16p0 through r29p0 before r30p0, Valhall r19p0 through r29p0 before r30p0, and Midgard r28p0 through r30p0.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-416: Use After Free
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| Added to CISA KEV | |
| CISA due date for the required action | |
| CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited Arm vulnerabilities
- CVE-2024-4610: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Use-After-Free Vulnerability
- CVE-2023-4211: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Use-After-Free Vulnerability
- CVE-2023-26083: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Information Disclosure Vulnerability
- CVE-2022-22706: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Unspecified Vulnerability
- CVE-2022-38181: Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver Use-After-Free Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-27562: Arm Trusted Firmware Out-of-Bounds Write Vulnerability