Gpu Display DriverApplication · Nvidia
CVE-2021-1077
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, R450 and R460 driver branch, contains a vulnerability where the software uses a reference count to manage a resource that is incorrectly updated, 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 GPU Display Driver for Windows and Linux (R450 and R460 branches) contains a reference count management vulnerability where the reference count used to manage a resource is incorrectly updated, potentially leading to 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 data
Gpu Display DriverApplication
>= 450, < 450.119.03>= 450, < 452.96>= 460, < 460.73.01>= 460, < 462.31CVSS 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 installed NVIDIA GPU driver version on WindowsOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv,noheader. Alternatively, check Device Manager > Display adapters > NVIDIA GPU > Driver tab, or run 'wmic path win32_VideoController get driverversion'Affected if Driver version falls within any of these ranges: >= 450 and < 450.119.03, >= 450 and < 452.96, >= 460 and < 460.73.01, or >= 460 and < 462.31
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Identify installed NVIDIA GPU driver version on LinuxRun nvidia-smi --query-gui=driver_version --format=csv,noheader or check /proc/driver/nvidia/versionAffected if Driver version falls within any of these ranges: >= 450 and < 450.119.03, >= 450 and < 452.96, >= 460 and < 460.73.01, or >= 460 and < 462.31
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Verify NVIDIA display driver is loaded and activeOn Windows, confirm NVIDIA GPU appears in Device Manager with a functioning driver. On Linux, check lsmod | grep nvidia and verify nvidia.ko module is loadedAffected if The NVIDIA display driver module is loaded and running, making the reference count vulnerability potentially exploitable
You are affected if the installed NVIDIA GPU display driver version falls within the affected version ranges (450.x before 450.119.03 or 452.96, 460.x before 460.73.01 or 462.31) and the driver is actively loaded 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 data450.119.03452.96460.73.01
Update the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver to a patched version that corrects the reference count management issue. Prioritize systems with exposed GPU drivers in multi-tenant or network-accessible configurations.
Fix this in Gpu Display Driver
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1077 — 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-2021-1077 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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