CVE-2020-5966
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 a NULL pointer is dereferenced, leading to denial of service or potential 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 confidenceNVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape. This kernel-level flaw in the display driver can cause system crashes leading to denial of service, and may potentially be exploited for 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, < 451.48CVSS 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.
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Confirm NVIDIA GPU hardware is presentOpen Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', and verify an NVIDIA GPU is listedAffected if No NVIDIA GPU found means the driver is not installed and the system is not affected
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Locate the NVIDIA kernel driver fileCheck for the presence of nvlddmkm.sys in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ or C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\Affected if Driver file not present indicates NVIDIA display driver is not installed
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Retrieve installed NVIDIA driver versionRight-click the NVIDIA GPU in Device Manager, select Properties, view the Driver tab. Alternatively, run 'nvstat' from command line or check registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\ for DriverVersionAffected if Driver version falls within one of these ranges: 390 to 392.60, 418 to 426.77, 440 to 443.17, or 450 to 451.47
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Verify kernel driver is loadedOpen a command prompt and run 'sc query nvlddmkm' to query the driver service statusAffected if Driver service is running or set to auto-start and version matches affected ranges
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Confirm DxgkDdiEscape handler is in useThis is a kernel-mode display driver function used by DirectX graphics. Verify the system uses DirectX rendering by checking dxdiag or reviewing installed graphics-related applicationsAffected if System uses DirectX graphics subsystem and driver version is in affected range
A system is affected if it has an NVIDIA GPU with a display driver version that matches any of the four vulnerable version ranges (390-392.60, 418-426.77, 440-443.17, or 450-451.47) and uses the DirectX graphics subsystem.
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 display driver update from NVIDIA's official drivers page. Prior to deployment in production environments, validate driver compatibility with critical GPU-dependent applications in a test environment.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5966 — 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-2020-5966 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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