CVE-2017-0343
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 · uneditedAll versions of the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contain a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) where user can trigger a race condition due to lack of synchronization in two functions leading to a 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 confidenceA race condition vulnerability exists in the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver's kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) due to insufficient synchronization between two functions. This can be exploited to cause a denial of service or potentially escalate 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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check for presence of vulnerable NVIDIA kernel driverLook for nvlddmkm.sys in the Windows\System32\drivers\ directory. If the file exists, the kernel mode layer driver is installed.Affected if nvlddmkm.sys exists in the drivers directory on a Windows system with an NVIDIA GPU
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Identify installed NVIDIA driver version via Device ManagerOpen Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click the NVIDIA GPU, select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and note the Driver Version field.Affected if The Driver Version shown does not match a patched version (versions prior to the fix are vulnerable)
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Query driver version via command lineOpen Command Prompt and run: driverquery /v | findstr nvlddmkm. This displays the nvlddmkm driver name, version, and status.Affected if A driver version is returned and it is not the patched version
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Check if kernel mode driver is loadedOpen Command Prompt and run: sc query nvlddmkm. This queries the status of the NVIDIA display driver service.Affected if The service state shows as RUNNING, meaning the vulnerable kernel layer is active
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Verify NVIDIA GPU hardware presentOpen Device Manager and confirm an NVIDIA GPU is listed under Display adapters, or run: wmic path win32_VideoController get nameAffected if An NVIDIA GPU is detected and the driver is installed (the system has the attack surface)
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Check driver file version directlyRight-click on C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys, select Properties, then view the Details tab for File Version information.Affected if The file version does not correspond to a patched driver release
A Windows system with an active NVIDIA GPU driver (nvlddmkm.sys) installed and running is affected, unless the driver version has been updated to the patched release.
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 dataApply the NVIDIA driver update that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should identify systems with affected NVIDIA GPU drivers and deploy the patched driver version.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0343 — 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-2017-0343 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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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
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