CVE-2015-7866
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 · uneditedUnquoted Windows search path vulnerability in the Smart Maximize Helper (nvSmartMaxApp.exe) in the Control Panel in the NVIDIA GPU graphics driver R340 before 341.92, R352 before 354.35, and R358 before 358.87 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse application, as demonstrated by C:\Program.exe.
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 confidenceUnquoted Windows service path vulnerability in NVIDIA's Smart Maximize Helper (nvSmartMaxApp.exe) allows local privilege escalation. The service executable path contains spaces and lacks proper quoting, causing Windows to search for and execute a malicious C:\Program.exe before locating the legitimate nvSmartMaxApp.exe binary.
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>= 340, < 341.92>= 352, < 354.35>= 358, < 358.87CVSS 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.
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Verify if nvSmartMaxApp service existsOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: sc query nvSmartMaxApp or Get-Service -Name nvSmartMaxAppAffected if The service is not found - the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability
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Check the executable path for the nvSmartMaxApp serviceRun: sc qc nvSmartMaxApp and examine the BINARY_PATH_NAME fieldAffected if The path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks - the system is vulnerable
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Inspect the full unquoted service pathRun: reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvSmartMaxApp" /v ImagePath to retrieve the exact path configured for the serviceAffected if The path contains spaces without quotes, such as C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\... - the system is vulnerable
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Determine installed NVIDIA GPU driver versionRun: nvidia-smi or check the driver version through the NVIDIA Control Panel, or query the registry at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkmAffected if The driver version falls within these vulnerable ranges: >= 340 and < 341.92, or >= 352 and < 354.35, or >= 358 and < 358.87
The system is affected if the nvSmartMaxApp service exists with an unquoted path containing spaces AND the installed NVIDIA driver version is within one of the vulnerable version ranges specified.
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 data341.92354.35358.87
Update NVIDIA GPU graphics drivers to version 341.92 (R340 series), 354.35 (R352 series), or 358.87 (R358 series) or later, which contain the corrected service path configuration.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7866 — 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-2015-7866 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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