Display DriverApplication · Nvidia
CVE-2015-5950
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 · uneditedThe NVIDIA display driver R352 before 353.82 and R340 before 341.81 on Windows; R304 before 304.128, R340 before 340.93, and R352 before 352.41 on Linux; and R352 before 352.46 on GRID vGPU and vSGA allows local users to write to an arbitrary kernel memory location and consequently gain privileges via a crafted ioctl call.
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 confidenceNVIDIA display driver vulnerability in kernel-mode components allows local users to write to arbitrary kernel memory locations via a crafted ioctl call, enabling privilege escalation from user mode to kernel/root privileges.
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
Display DriverApplication
<= 352.09= 304.108= 304.119= 304.121= 304.123= 304.125= 352.21= 352.30<= 352.86= 340.43= 340.52= 341.44<= 352.30CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/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.
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Identify NVIDIA display driver version on WindowsOpen Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', right-click NVIDIA GPU, select 'Properties', go to 'Driver' tab. Alternatively, run 'nvidia-smi' from command line or check 'C:\Windows\System32\nvvad.sys' driver file properties for version info.Affected if Driver version is 352.09 or lower; equals 304.108, 304.119, 304.121, 304.123, or 304.125; equals 352.21 or 352.30; 352.86 or lower; equals 340.43, 340.52, or 341.44; or for GPU driver, 352.30 or lower
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Identify NVIDIA display driver version on LinuxRun 'nvidia-smi' from terminal, or check '/proc/driver/nvidia/version', or use 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to confirm driver is loaded. The version appears in the output.Affected if Driver version matches any of the affected versions listed in Windows check (304.x, 340.x, 352.x ranges)
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Verify NVIDIA kernel module is loadedOn Linux, run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to confirm nvidia kernel modules are active. On Windows, check that nvlddmkm.sys or nvvad.sys driver is present in device manager.Affected if The NVIDIA driver kernel components are loaded and the vulnerable ioctl interface is available to user-space applications
You are affected if an NVIDIA display or GPU driver version within the listed affected ranges is installed and the kernel driver components are loaded, allowing local users to make ioctl calls that can write to arbitrary kernel memory.
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 dataUpgrade NVIDIA display drivers to patched versions: Windows R352 353.82+ or R340 341.81+; Linux R304 304.128+, R340 340.93+, or R352 352.41+; GRID R352 352.46+. Verify driver compatibility with production GPU workloads post-update.
Fix this in Display Driver
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5950 — 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-2015-5950 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
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- 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
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