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Gpu DriverApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2019-5687

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-08-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
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 Windows GPU Display Driver (all versions) contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape in which an incorrect use of default permissions for an object exposes it to an unintended actor

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 confidence

This is a kernel-mode privilege escalation vulnerability in NVIDIA's Windows GPU display driver (nvlddmkm.sys). The DxgkDdiEscape handler incorrectly applies default permissions to an object, potentially allowing an unprivileged user to interact with privileged kernel-mode functionality and escalate their privileges.

MitigationUpdate the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver to a version that includes the security fix. All versions are affected.

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Verify NVIDIA GPU display driver is installed
    Open Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', and check if an NVIDIA GPU is listed with its driver. Alternatively, run 'driverquery /v | findstr nvlddmkm' to list NVIDIA display driver modules.
    Affected if An NVIDIA GPU with the nvlddmkm.sys driver is present on the system
  2. Confirm nvlddmkm.sys driver file exists
    Check for the presence of nvlddmkm.sys in the Windows\System32\drivers\ directory. Run 'dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys' or use File Explorer.
    Affected if The file nvlddmkm.sys exists in the drivers directory
  3. Check if NVIDIA driver service is loaded
    Run 'sc query nvlddmkm' or check via Task Manager's Services tab for NVIDIA-related services. The driver may appear as 'NVIDIA Display Container LS' or similar NVIDIA services.
    Affected if NVIDIA driver services are running or the driver is loaded at system boot
  4. Verify Windows display driver model (WDDM) is active
    Run 'dxdiag' and check the 'Display' tab - look for 'Driver Model: WDDM' under the NVIDIA GPU entry. This confirms the vulnerable kernel-mode driver is in use.
    Affected if WDDM driver model is active for an NVIDIA GPU

If an NVIDIA Windows GPU display driver is installed with nvlddmkm.sys present and active, the system is affected by this vulnerability.

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

Update the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver to a version that includes the security fix. All versions are affected.

Fix this in Gpu Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2019-5687 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
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