CVE-2017-6254
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 Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape where a pointer passed from an user to the driver is used without validation which may lead 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 · high confidenceThe NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) contains a vulnerability in the DxgkDdiEscape handler where a user-supplied pointer is used without validation. This improper pointer handling in kernel mode can allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service (system crash) or potentially achieve privilege escalation by manipulating the pointer to access arbitrary kernel memory locations.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check for NVIDIA kernel driver presenceOpen Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\, then search for nvlddmkm.sys file. Alternatively, open Command Prompt and run: dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sysAffected if The file nvlddmkm.sys exists on the system, indicating the vulnerable driver is installed
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Retrieve NVIDIA driver versionOpen Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', right-click the NVIDIA GPU device, select 'Properties', go to the 'Driver' tab, and note the driver version. Alternatively, run: wmic path win32_VideoController get name,driverversionAffected if Any NVIDIA driver version is displayed, confirming an affected driver is in use
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Verify GPU hardware presenceOpen Device Manager and expand 'Display adapters' to confirm an NVIDIA GPU is listed. Alternatively, run: wmic path win32_VideoController get nameAffected if An NVIDIA GPU is detected and actively using the nvlddmkm.sys driver
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Check driver service statusOpen Services (services.msc), locate the 'NVIDIA Display Container LS' service or 'nvlddmkm' service, and verify it is running. Alternatively, run: sc query nvlddmkmAffected if The NVIDIA driver service is running, meaning the vulnerable code path is active in kernel mode
A system is affected if it has an NVIDIA GPU with the nvlddmkm.sys kernel driver installed and running, regardless of version, since all versions contain the pointer validation flaw in the DxgkDdiEscape handler.
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 vendor-supplied patch by updating the NVIDIA GPU display driver to the version that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching systems with graphical user interfaces running the affected driver versions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6254 — 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-2017-6254 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
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