CVE-2022-22706: Arm Bifrost GPU Privilege Escalation

CVE-2022-22706 Overview

CVE-2022-22706 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver that allows a non-privileged user to achieve write access to read-only memory pages. This improper memory access control flaw affects multiple GPU driver architectures including Midgard, Bifrost, and Valhall, making it a significant concern for mobile devices and embedded systems utilizing Arm Mali graphics processors.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild and has been added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Attackers can leverage this flaw to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized write access to protected memory regions, potentially leading to complete system compromise.

Affected Products

• Arm Midgard GPU Kernel Driver r26p0 through r31p0
• Arm Bifrost GPU Kernel Driver r0p0 through r35p0
• Arm Valhall GPU Kernel Driver r19p0 through r35p0

Discovery Timeline

• March 3, 2022 - CVE-2022-22706 published to NVD
• November 3, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2022-22706

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2022-22706 is classified under CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer), indicating a memory corruption vulnerability within the kernel driver. The flaw allows an attacker with local access and low privileges to manipulate memory protection mechanisms, enabling write operations to memory pages that should be read-only.

The vulnerability exists in the GPU driver's memory management subsystem, which fails to properly enforce memory protection attributes. When exploited, an unprivileged user can bypass the operating system's memory protection mechanisms, gaining the ability to modify critical kernel memory structures or code pages.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in improper boundary checking and memory protection enforcement within the Mali GPU kernel driver. The driver fails to adequately validate memory access requests, allowing write operations to memory regions that have been marked as read-only by the kernel. This represents a fundamental flaw in the driver's memory management logic where page protection attributes are not correctly enforced during GPU memory operations.

Attack Vector

This vulnerability requires local access to the target system, making it particularly relevant for mobile device attacks and privilege escalation scenarios. An attacker who has already gained initial access to a device (such as through a malicious application or another vulnerability) can exploit CVE-2022-22706 to escalate privileges.

The attack leverages the GPU driver's interface to manipulate memory mappings. By sending specially crafted requests to the Mali GPU driver through the exposed ioctl interface, an attacker can trick the driver into granting write permissions to memory pages that should remain read-only. This could enable modification of kernel code, security-critical data structures, or other protected memory regions, ultimately allowing full system compromise.

Detection Methods for CVE-2022-22706

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual ioctl calls to the Mali GPU kernel driver device nodes (/dev/mali*)
• Unexpected memory mapping operations attempting to modify read-only pages
• Anomalous kernel memory access patterns from GPU-related processes
• Evidence of privilege escalation following GPU driver interactions

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for suspicious access to Mali GPU driver interfaces using kernel auditing or security modules
• Implement kernel integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications to read-only memory regions
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of monitoring kernel driver interactions
• Use hardware-based memory protection features where available to detect violations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable kernel auditing for all GPU driver ioctl operations on systems with Mali GPUs
• Implement behavioral analysis for processes interacting with GPU drivers to identify anomalous patterns
• Review system logs for kernel memory protection violations or unexpected page fault exceptions
• Monitor for newly installed applications requesting GPU access on mobile devices

How to Mitigate CVE-2022-22706

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Arm Mali GPU kernel drivers to the latest patched versions immediately
• Audit systems for signs of exploitation, particularly looking for unauthorized privilege escalation
• Restrict access to GPU driver interfaces where possible using application sandboxing
• Apply vendor-specific security updates from device manufacturers

Patch Information

Arm has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Organizations should update their Mali GPU kernel drivers to versions beyond the affected ranges:

• Midgard: Update to versions newer than r31p0
• Bifrost: Update to versions newer than r35p0
• Valhall: Update to versions newer than r35p0

Security updates are available through the ARM Security Updates portal. Device manufacturers may also release firmware updates that include the patched drivers. Refer to the ARM Mali GPU Driver Advisory for specific guidance.

Given that this vulnerability is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, federal agencies are required to apply mitigations according to CISA's specified timeline.

Workarounds

• Limit application permissions to prevent untrusted applications from accessing GPU resources
• Implement strict application sandboxing to reduce the attack surface for local privilege escalation
• Use mobile device management (MDM) solutions to restrict installation of untrusted applications
• Consider disabling GPU acceleration for high-security workloads where feasible until patches can be applied

# Check Mali GPU driver version on Linux-based systems
cat /sys/module/mali_kbase/version
# or
dmesg | grep -i mali

# Review kernel audit logs for suspicious GPU driver access
ausearch -k mali_gpu_access