CVE-2021-1078
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 for Windows, all versions, contains a vulnerability in the kernel driver (nvlddmkm.sys) where a NULL pointer dereference may lead to system crash.
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 confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the NVIDIA Windows kernel driver (nvlddmkm.sys) allows a local attacker to cause a system crash via the display driver, resulting in 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>= 390, < 392.65>= 418, < 427.33>= 450, < 452.96>= 460, < 462.31>= 465, < 466.11CVSS 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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Check NVIDIA driver version via nvidia-smiOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: `nvidia-smi` - look for "Driver Version" in the outputAffected if The displayed driver version falls within any of these ranges: 390 to 392.64, 418 to 427.32, 450 to 452.95, 460 to 462.30, or 465 to 466.10
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Check NVIDIA driver version via Device ManagerOpen Device Manager, expand "Display adapters", right-click the NVIDIA GPU, select Properties, go to the Driver tab - note the Driver VersionAffected if The driver version shown matches any of the affected version ranges listed above
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Verify nvlddmkm.sys kernel driver file versionLocate nvlddmkm.sys (typically in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\), right-click and select Properties, check the File Version on the Details tabAffected if The file version corresponds to a vulnerable driver version within the affected ranges
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Confirm NVIDIA display driver is loadedOpen Command Prompt as Administrator and run: `sc query nvlddmkm` or check Device Manager to ensure the NVIDIA display driver is present and enabledAffected if The NVIDIA display driver kernel module is active and its version is within the affected ranges
You are affected if the installed NVIDIA GPU display driver version (as shown by nvidia-smi, Device Manager, or nvlddmkm.sys file properties) falls within any of these vulnerable ranges: 390-392.64, 418-427.32, 450-452.95, 460-462.30, or 465-466.10.
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 data392.65427.33452.96
Update the NVIDIA GPU display driver to the latest version containing the security fix, or implement driver version controls to prevent use of vulnerable versions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1078 — 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-2021-1078 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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