CVE-2021-1079
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 GeForce Experience, all versions prior to 3.22, contains a vulnerability in GameStream plugins where log files are created using NT/System level permissions, which may lead to code execution, denial of service, or local privilege escalation. The attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification nor would they be able to leak information as a direct result of the overwrite.
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 GeForce Experience versions prior to 3.22 have a vulnerability in GameStream plugins where log files are created with NT/System-level permissions. This improper permission assignment allows local attackers to potentially achieve code execution, denial of service, or privilege escalation by interacting with these elevated-permission log files.
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< 3.22CVSS 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
- Low
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 if NVIDIA GeForce Experience is installedLook for the GeForce Experience installation in the system (typically in Program Files). The main executable is nvidia geforce experience.exe or similar NVIDIA softwareAffected if The software is present on the system and has a version number below 3.22
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Determine the installed version of GeForce ExperienceOpen the GeForce Experience application and navigate to the About or Settings section to view the version number, or right-click the executable and view Properties > DetailsAffected if The installed version is lower than 3.22 (for example, 3.21, 3.20, etc.)
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Verify GameStream functionality is in useGameStream is a feature within GeForce Experience used for streaming games. Check if this feature has been configured or used on the system. Look for GameStream-related settings or logs within the GeForce Experience applicationAffected if GameStream has been enabled or used at least once on the system, creating log files in the application data or program data directories
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Inspect GameStream log file permissionsLocate the log files created by the GameStream plugin (typically found in the GeForce Experience application data folder or GameStream logs directory). Right-click on these log files, go to Properties, and examine the Security tab to see which users or groups have accessAffected if The log files are owned by SYSTEM or have NT Service permissions that grant elevated access beyond the standard user account, allowing potential privilege escalation
The system is affected if NVIDIA GeForce Experience version 3.22 or higher is not installed, and GameStream has been used, resulting in log files with elevated permissions.
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 data3.22
Upgrade NVIDIA GeForce Experience to version 3.22 or later to patch the vulnerable GameStream plugin log file permission handling.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1079 — 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-2021-1079 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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