CVE-2021-1053
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 GPU Display Driver for Windows and Linux, all versions, contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape or IOCTL in which improper validation of a user pointer 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 GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) where improper validation of user-supplied pointers in the DxgkDdiEscape or IOCTL handler can lead to denial of service. This is a local kernel-mode vulnerability affecting both Windows and Linux drivers.
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, < 392.63>= 418, < 427.11>= 450, < 452.77>= 460, < 461.09>= 390, < 390.141>= 450, < 450.102.04>= 460, < 460.32.03CVSS 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:3.1/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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Identify NVIDIA GPU hardwareOn Windows, open Device Manager and expand 'Display adapters' or run 'wmic path win32_VideoController get name'. On Linux, run 'lspci | grep -i nvidia' or 'nvidia-smi'.Affected if No NVIDIA GPU is present in the system
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Retrieve installed NVIDIA driver versionRun 'nvidia-smi' (works on both Windows and Linux) and note the 'Driver Version' field. On Windows, also check the driver version in Device Manager by right-clicking the NVIDIA GPU and viewing Properties > Driver > Driver Version.Affected if Unable to retrieve a driver version, indicating no NVIDIA driver is installed
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Compare driver version against affected rangesCompare the installed driver version to these vulnerable ranges: 390.0 to 392.62; 418.0 to 427.10; 450.0 to 452.76; 460.0 to 461.08; 390.0 to 390.140; 450.0 to 450.102.03; 460.0 to 460.32.02. Note that version numbers are formatted as 'major.minor' (e.g., 390.141 is the fixed version in the 390.x branch).Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges listed above
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Verify kernel driver is loadedOn Windows, run 'sc query nvlddmkm' or check in Device Manager that the driver is active. On Linux, run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to confirm the nvidia kernel module is loaded.Affected if The kernel mode driver (nvlddmkm on Windows, nvidia module on Linux) is not loaded or active
The system is affected if an NVIDIA GPU is present with a driver version that matches any of the affected ranges and the kernel mode driver is loaded and active.
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 data390.141392.63427.11
Apply the vendor-supplied patch/update for the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver to remediate the improper pointer validation in the kernel mode driver. Prioritize systems based on exposure and criticality.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1053 — 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-2021-1053 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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