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Gpu DriverApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2017-0342

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-05-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
All versions of the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contain a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler where incorrect calculation may cause an invalid address access leading to denial of service or potential escalation of privileges.

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 · moderate confidence

NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a kernel-mode vulnerability in nvlddmkm.sys where an incorrect calculation in a handler leads to invalid memory address access, potentially causing system crashes (denial of service) or privilege escalation to kernel-level privileges.

MitigationUpdate the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Prioritize patching on systems where untrusted users have local access or where graphical rendering workloads are critical.

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
Gpu DriverApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify NVIDIA kernel driver file exists
    Check if nvlddmkm.sys exists in the Windows\System32\drivers\ directory or search for it using Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ -Filter nvlddmkm.sys
    Affected if The file nvlddmkm.sys is present on the system, indicating the NVIDIA display driver is installed
  2. Check NVIDIA GPU hardware present
    Open Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', or run Get-PnpDevice -Class Display | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -match 'NVIDIA' }
    Affected if An NVIDIA GPU adapter is listed, indicating the vulnerable driver is likely loaded
  3. Verify kernel driver loaded
    Run 'driverquery /v | findstr nvlddmkm' or check Get-Process for nvidia persistence daemon, or review loaded modules with 'lm m nvlddmkm' in WinDbg/KD if available
    Affected if The nvlddmkm kernel driver is loaded in memory
  4. Confirm driver version range
    In Device Manager, right-click NVIDIA GPU > Properties > Driver tab to view driver version, or query registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm
    Affected if Any NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver version is installed (all versions are affected per vendor disclosure)

If the NVIDIA display driver (nvlddmkm.sys) is installed and loaded on a Windows system, the environment is affected by this vulnerability since all driver versions contain the kernel-mode memory access flaw.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Prioritize patching on systems where untrusted users have local access or where graphical rendering workloads are critical.

Fix this in Gpu Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-0342 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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