CVE-2020-5962
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 NVIDIA Control Panel component, in which an attacker with local system access can corrupt a system file, which may lead to denial of service or 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 · moderate confidenceNVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the NVIDIA Control Panel component where an attacker with local system access can corrupt a system file, potentially leading to denial of service or privilege escalation.
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>= 390, < 392.61>= 418, < 426.78>= 440, < 443.18>= 450, < 451.48>= 450, < 451.48>= 418, < 426.78>= 440, < 443.18>= 390, < 392.61>= 418, < 426.78>= 440, < 443.18>= 450, < 451.48CVSS 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:3.1/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.
-
Verify NVIDIA GPU driver is installedOpen Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters' and look for NVIDIA GPU entries, or check for NVIDIA-related services and DLLs in Program FilesAffected if No NVIDIA GPU or driver is found - not affected
-
Identify installed driver versionRun 'nvidia-smi' from command line or check driver version in Device Manager by right-clicking NVIDIA GPU > Properties > Driver tab, or check the NVIDIA Control Panel About sectionAffected if Unable to determine driver version - status unknown
-
Compare version against affected rangesMatch your installed driver version against: Quadro/NVS: 390-392.60, 418-426.77, 440-443.17, 450-451.47; Geforce: 450-451.47; Tesla: 418-426.77, 440-443.17Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: >=390 and <392.61, >=418 and <426.78, >=440 and <443.18, or >=450 and <451.48 - likely affected
-
Confirm NVIDIA Control Panel component existsCheck for 'nvui.dll' or 'nvcpl.dll' in System32 or SysWOW64, or verify NVIDIA Control Panel is listed in Programs and FeaturesAffected if NVIDIA Control Panel is not installed - likely not vulnerable to this specific flaw
-
Check for unauthorized system file accessReview system event logs for Event ID 4656 or 4663 indicating the NVIDIA Control Panel process modified system files outside its expected directoryAffected if Suspicious file modifications by NVIDIA components are logged - potential exploitation indicator
You are affected if an NVIDIA GPU driver is installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND the NVIDIA Control Panel component is present on the system.
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 data392.61426.78443.18
Apply the latest NVIDIA GPU driver update from the vendor; until patched, monitor system access and restrict local unprivileged accounts.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5962 — 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-2020-5962 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