Use‑After‑Free in Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver (CVE‑2024‑4610) Enables Local Memory Access
What It Is – The Bifrost and Valhall GPU kernel drivers in Arm’s Mali GPU contain a use‑after‑free flaw. A non‑privileged local user can trigger improper GPU memory processing to read memory that has already been freed.
Exploitability – The vulnerability is exploitable locally without special privileges; proof‑of‑concept code has been released. The NVD lists a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High).
Affected Products – Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers (Bifrost and Valhall families) used in a wide range of embedded, mobile, and IoT devices.
Why It Matters for Trust & Control Assurance
- Vulnerability Management – Demonstrates the need for continuous monitoring of third‑party firmware/driver updates and rapid evidence of patch deployment.
- Secure Configuration – Organizations must maintain an auditable inventory of GPU driver versions and verify that only approved, patched binaries run on production assets.
- Defensible Audit Trail – Capturing patch‑status evidence supports compliance reviews across frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, ISO 27001) that require documented remediation of known weaknesses.
Recommended Actions
- Inventory all devices using Arm Mali GPUs and record the driver version.
- Apply the vendor‑released patches or firmware updates that address CVE‑2024‑4610 immediately.
- Integrate the patch status into your continuous control monitoring platform to generate real‑time compliance evidence.
- Validate that the patched driver no longer exhibits the use‑after‑free behavior via internal testing.
Source: CISA KEV – CVE‑2024‑4610