CVE-2025-0072 in Valhall GPU Kernel Driver
Summary
by MITRE • 05/02/2025
Use After Free vulnerability in Arm Ltd Valhall GPU Kernel Driver, Arm Ltd Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver allows a local non-privileged user process to perform improper GPU memory processing operations to gain access to already freed memory.
This issue affects Valhall GPU Kernel Driver: from r29p0 through r49p3, from r50p0 through r53p0; Arm 5th Gen GPU Architecture Kernel Driver: from r41p0 through r49p3, from r50p0 through r53p0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2025
The CVE-2025-0072 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition within the Arm Ltd Valhall GPU kernel driver implementation, specifically affecting the Arm 5th Generation GPU architecture. This flaw resides in the kernel-level memory management subsystem responsible for GPU resource allocation and deallocation, creating a pathway for local privilege escalation through improper memory handling operations. The vulnerability manifests when a non-privileged user process manipulates GPU memory operations in a manner that allows access to memory regions that have already been freed, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or system compromise. The affected driver versions span multiple release cycles from r29p0 through r49p3 and r50p0 through r53p0, indicating a widespread impact across the Valhall GPU kernel driver lineage. This issue falls under CWE-416, which specifically addresses the use of freed memory condition, a well-known vulnerability pattern that has been extensively documented in cybersecurity literature and represents a fundamental memory safety flaw.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves a user-space process that can manipulate GPU memory allocation and deallocation sequences to trigger a race condition or memory corruption scenario. When the GPU kernel driver frees memory associated with GPU operations, a subsequent memory access operation by the malicious process can access this freed memory region, potentially leading to data corruption, information disclosure, or code execution. The nature of GPU kernel drivers presents unique challenges since they operate with elevated privileges while managing hardware resources, making any memory safety issues particularly dangerous. The vulnerability leverages the inherent complexity of GPU memory management systems where multiple processes and kernel threads may interact with shared GPU memory pools, creating opportunities for improper memory lifecycle management. This flaw directly violates the principle of memory safety and represents a classic example of improper resource management as outlined in the software security best practices.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-0072 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides a potential pathway for persistent system compromise and lateral movement within affected environments. A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated privileges and potentially establish a foothold for further exploitation, particularly in systems where GPU acceleration is utilized for critical operations. The attack surface includes any system running the affected Arm 5th Generation GPU kernel drivers, which encompasses a wide range of mobile devices, embedded systems, and potentially server environments that utilize Arm-based GPU architectures. Organizations using these GPU drivers face significant risk, as the vulnerability can be exploited without requiring special privileges or authentication, making it particularly concerning for enterprise environments where GPU resources are commonly utilized. The persistence of this vulnerability across multiple driver release cycles suggests that the root cause remains unaddressed in the software development lifecycle, indicating potential gaps in testing and security validation processes.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-0072 should focus on immediate driver updates and system hardening measures to prevent exploitation. Organizations should prioritize patching affected systems with the latest kernel driver versions from Arm Ltd that contain fixes for this use-after-free condition. System administrators should implement monitoring solutions to detect anomalous GPU memory access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on memory allocation and deallocation sequences within GPU kernel modules. The implementation of kernel memory protection mechanisms such as stack canaries, address space layout randomization, and memory integrity checks can provide additional defense-in-depth measures. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation) and T1547.001 (Registry Run Keys/Startup Folder), as exploitation could lead to privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application whitelisting and process monitoring to prevent unauthorized GPU memory operations that could trigger the vulnerability, ensuring comprehensive protection against both current and potential future exploits targeting similar memory safety issues in GPU kernel drivers.