CVE-2021-28663

CRITICALNVD 8.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 8.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 12%CVSS: 8.8Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · epss top5pct · public exploitExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading to a use-after-free. This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, Valhall r19p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, and Midgard r4p0 through r30p0.

CVSS v3
8.8
EG Score
9.0(high)
EG Risk
81(Attend)
EG Risk 81/100SSVC: Attend

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Remediate soon — notable exploitation risk.
EPSS PROB
12%
EPSS %ILE
96%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

May 10, 2021

Last Modified

November 3, 2025

Advisory Details (4)

Auto-updated Jun 2, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: cisa.
cisa Patch Available🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-28663
generic

GitHub - lntrx/CVE-2021-28663: A basic PoC leak for CVE-2021-28663 (Internal of the Android kernel backdoor vulnerability) · GitHub

https://github.com/lntrx/CVE-2021-28663
generic

Arm Product Security Center

https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates/mali-gpu-kernel-driver
generic

Arm Product Security Center

https://developer.arm.com/support/arm-security-updates

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 56× in last 7d / 244× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 933 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-09-25 14:55 UTCCISA KEV update
  2. 2026-09-25 14:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-25 10:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-09-25 06:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-25 01:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-09-24 21:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-24 19:31 UTCCISA KEV update
  8. 2026-09-24 17:35 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-09-24 17:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-09-24 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-24 13:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-24 09:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-24 04:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-24 00:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-23 20:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-23 16:23 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-09-23 16:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-23 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-09-23 12:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-23 07:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-23 03:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-22 23:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-22 19:36 UTCCISA KEV update
  24. 2026-09-22 19:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-22 15:11 UTCEG score recompute
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-09-22 15:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-09-22 10:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-22 06:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-09-22 02:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-21 22:23 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-09-21 22:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-21 20:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-09-21 19:09 UTCCISA KEV update
  9. 2026-09-21 18:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-09-21 13:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-09-21 09:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-21 05:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-21 01:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-20 21:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-20 16:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-20 12:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-20 08:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-20 04:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-20 00:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-19 19:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-19 15:46 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-09-19 15:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-19 15:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-09-19 11:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-19 07:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  26. 2026-09-19 03:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-09-18 22:54 UTCEG score recompute
  28. 2026-09-18 22:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-09-18 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-09-18 19:20 UTCCISA KEV update
  31. 2026-09-18 18:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-09-18 14:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-09-18 14:15 UTCCISA KEV update
  34. 2026-09-18 10:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-09-18 06:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-09-18 01:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-09-17 21:43 UTCEG score recompute
  38. 2026-09-17 21:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-09-17 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-09-17 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-09-17 17:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-09-17 13:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-09-17 09:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-09-17 04:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-09-17 00:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-09-16 20:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-09-16 16:14 UTCEG score recompute
  48. 2026-09-16 16:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-09-16 14:10 UTCCISA KEV update
  50. 2026-09-16 14:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-09-16 12:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-09-16 07:49 UTCEG score recompute
  53. 2026-09-16 07:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-09-16 03:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-09-15 23:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-09-15 19:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-09-15 15:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-09-15 10:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-09-15 06:34 UTCEG score recompute
  60. 2026-09-15 06:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-09-15 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  62. 2026-09-15 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  63. 2026-09-15 02:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-09-14 22:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-09-14 19:24 UTCCISA KEV update
  66. 2026-09-14 17:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-09-14 13:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-09-14 09:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-09-14 05:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-09-14 01:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-09-13 21:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-09-13 16:48 UTCEG score recompute
  73. 2026-09-13 16:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  74. 2026-09-13 16:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  75. 2026-09-13 12:36 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(1 reference)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 GitHub PoC). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoClntrx/CVE-2021-28663
    First seen Sep 1, 2021

    A basic PoC leak for CVE-2021-28663 (Internal of the Android kernel backdoor vulnerability)

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2021-28663?
CVE-2021-28663 is a critical vulnerability published on May 10, 2021. The Arm Mali GPU kernel driver allows privilege escalation or information disclosure because GPU memory operations are mishandled, leading to a use-after-free. This affects Bifrost r0p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, Valhall r19p0 through r28p0 before r29p0, and Midgard r4p0 through r30p0.
When was CVE-2021-28663 disclosed?
CVE-2021-28663 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on May 10, 2021, with the most recent update on November 3, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2021-28663 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-28663 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 3, 2021, affecting Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-28663?
CVE-2021-28663 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.
Which products are affected by CVE-2021-28663?
CVE-2021-28663 affects Arm Mali Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2021-28663?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2021-28663, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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