CVE-2012-4225
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedNVIDIA UNIX graphics driver before 295.71 and before 304.32 allows local users to write to arbitrary physical memory locations and gain privileges by modifying the VGA window using /dev/nvidia0.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in NVIDIA Unix graphics drivers before versions 295.71 and 304.32. The flaw allows local users to write to arbitrary physical memory locations by manipulating the VGA window through the /dev/nvidia0 device, enabling privilege escalation to root or kernel-level access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 295.71<= 304.32CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check if NVIDIA driver is installedLook for /dev/nvidia0 device file: ls -la /dev/nvidia* and check if nvidia kernel module is loaded: lsmod | grep nvidiaAffected if The /dev/nvidia0 device exists and the nvidia kernel module is loaded, meaning the NVIDIA driver is present in the system
-
Determine installed NVIDIA driver versionRun: cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version or use nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv,noheaderAffected if The displayed version number is 295.71 or lower, OR between 296.00 and 304.32 inclusive
-
Check access permissions on /dev/nvidia0Run: ls -la /dev/nvidia0 and examine the file permissionsAffected if The device is readable/writable by non-root users (world-writable or group-writable without proper restrictions)
-
Verify VGA window interface is accessibleCheck for existence of /dev/nvidia0 and attempt to access it: stat /dev/nvidia0Affected if The device file exists and the current user has read/write access to it
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable NVIDIA Unix graphics driver version (295.71 or earlier, or 304.32 or earlier) AND has /dev/nvidia0 accessible to unprivileged users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate NVIDIA graphics driver to version 295.71 or later (for older branch) or 304.32 or later (for newer branch). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict access to /dev/nvidia0 device files to prevent unprivileged local access.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4225 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-4225 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data