dbcve.org
Gpu DriverApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2017-6266

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-09-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer handler where improper access controls could allow unprivileged users to cause a denial of service.

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 GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer handler where improper access control mechanisms allow unprivileged users to trigger a denial of service condition. The flaw exists in the kernel-mode portion of the display driver, enabling local attackers with low privileges to crash the system or cause instability.

MitigationApply the appropriate NVIDIA GPU Display Driver update or patch provided by NVIDIA to address the improper access control vulnerability in the kernel mode layer.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check if NVIDIA GPU Display Driver is installed
    On Windows: open Device Manager and look for 'NVIDIA GPU' under Display adapters, or run 'nvidia-smi' from command line. On Linux: run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' or check /proc/driver/nvidia/version
    Affected if NVIDIA GPU Display Driver is present on the system
  2. Verify kernel mode driver component is loaded
    On Windows: check that nvlddmkm.sys or similar kernel driver is loaded via 'driverquery /v' or System Information. On Linux: run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to confirm nvidia kernel module is loaded
    Affected if Kernel mode display driver component (nvlddmkm.sys on Windows or nvidia kernel module on Linux) is loaded in memory
  3. Confirm user has local access to the system
    Verify the attacker would have local user account access (unprivileged or low-privilege user account exists on the system)
    Affected if Local unprivileged user accounts exist on the machine

If NVIDIA GPU Display Driver with kernel mode components is installed and local user accounts exist, the system is affected since all driver versions contain the improper access control 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

Apply the appropriate NVIDIA GPU Display Driver update or patch provided by NVIDIA to address the improper access control vulnerability in the kernel mode layer.

Fix this in Gpu Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2017-6266 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data