CVE-2018-6247
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 NULL pointer dereference may lead to denial of service or possible 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 confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the DxgkDdiEscape handler within the NVIDIA Windows GPU display driver's kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys). An attacker can trigger this condition to cause a system crash (denial of service) or potentially achieve privilege escalation via kernel-level code execution.
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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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.
-
Confirm NVIDIA GPU driver is installedCheck for the presence of nvlddmkm.sys in the system drivers directory (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys) or check Device Manager for NVIDIA GPU display adapters.Affected if The NVIDIA GPU display driver (nvlddmkm.sys) is present on the system.
-
Identify installed driver versionOpen Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click the NVIDIA GPU, select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and note the Driver Version field. Alternatively, run 'driverquery /v | findstr nvlddmkm' from an elevated command prompt.Affected if A driver version is returned (confirms NVIDIA display driver is installed).
-
Check if running vulnerable driver versionCompare the identified driver version against the fixed version released in the NVIDIA security bulletin for CVE-2018-6247 (released January 2019). Versions prior to the security update contain the vulnerability.Affected if The installed driver version predates the security fix released in January 2019.
-
Verify DxgkDdiEscape is accessibleThis vulnerability is triggered through the DxgkDdiEscape handler in kernel mode. Any application that can make DirectX graphics escape calls could potentially trigger the condition. Confirm the system runs graphics-intensive applications or has DirectX enabled.Affected if The system has an active NVIDIA GPU driver with DirectX/graphics functionality enabled (default state for Windows desktop systems with NVIDIA GPUs).
If the NVIDIA display driver (nvlddmkm.sys) is installed and the driver version predates the CVE-2018-6247 security update (January 2019), the system is vulnerable to the NULL pointer dereference 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 dataUpdate the NVIDIA GPU display driver to a version that includes the security fix for this vulnerability. In enterprise environments, validate driver compatibility in a test environment before broad deployment.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,288.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6247 — 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-2018-6247 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data