CVE-2019-5686
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 (all versions) contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape in which the software uses an API function or data structure in a way that relies on properties that are not always guaranteed to be valid, which may lead to 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 confidenceNVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape. The driver uses an API function or data structure in a way that relies on properties that are not always guaranteed to be valid, leading to potential denial of service.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify NVIDIA GPU driver is installedOpen Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', and look for NVIDIA GPU entries. Alternatively, check the Windows registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm for the presence of the NVIDIA driver service.Affected if An NVIDIA GPU adapter is listed in Device Manager or the nvlddmkm service registry key exists.
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Locate the vulnerable driver fileSearch for nvlddmkm.sys in C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\ or C:\Windows\System32\ drivers directory. Right-click the file and select Properties to view version information.Affected if The file nvlddmkm.sys exists on the system.
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Confirm the driver versionIn Device Manager, right-click the NVIDIA GPU, select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and note the Driver Version. Alternatively, use the file properties of nvlddmkm.sys to obtain the version string.Affected if Any version of the NVIDIA Windows GPU display driver is installed (the vulnerability affects all versions).
If an NVIDIA Windows GPU display driver is installed and the nvlddmkm.sys file is present, the system is potentially affected by this vulnerability.
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 NVIDIA GPU display drivers to a patched version provided by NVIDIA. In enterprise environments, test driver updates for compatibility with critical GPU workloads before broad deployment.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-5686 — 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-2019-5686 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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