dbcve.org
Gpu Display DriverApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2023-25516

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.2 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer, where an unprivileged user can cause an integer overflow, which may lead to information disclosure and 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 confidence

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux contains an integer overflow vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvidia.ko). An unprivileged local user can trigger this flaw, potentially leading to information disclosure from kernel memory and denial of service via kernel crash or instability.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA driver update/patch when available. Until then, consider restricting access to /dev/nvidia* devices to privileged users only, or deploy the system behind virtualization if GPU passthrough is not required.

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
Affected:<= 11.12>= 13.0, <= 13.7>= 15.0, <= 15.2

CVSS 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
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if NVIDIA kernel module is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to see if the nvidia.ko module is currently loaded in the kernel
    Affected if The nvidia module is loaded and the system has NVIDIA GPU hardware present
  2. Identify installed NVIDIA driver version
    Run 'cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version' or use 'nvidia-smi' to display the installed driver version number
    Affected if Version number falls within <= 11.12, >= 13.0 through <= 13.7, or >= 15.0 through <= 15.2
  3. Verify /dev/nvidia* device accessibility
    Check permissions on /dev/nvidia* devices using 'ls -la /dev/nvidia*' to see which users have access
    Affected if Unprivileged (non-root) users have read or write access to /dev/nvidia* devices
  4. Confirm GPU hardware presence
    Run 'lspci | grep -i nvidia' or check 'nvidia-smi' output to verify NVIDIA GPU hardware is installed
    Affected if NVIDIA GPU hardware is present and the driver is loaded

The system is affected if an unprivileged local user can access /dev/nvidia* devices while running a vulnerable NVIDIA driver version within the affected ranges (<=11.12, 13.0-13.7, or 15.0-15.2).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the NVIDIA driver update/patch when available. Until then, consider restricting access to /dev/nvidia* devices to privileged users only, or deploy the system behind virtualization if GPU passthrough is not required.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux: branch 11.x upgrade to >11.12 (e.g., 11.13 or latest 11.x); branch 13.x upgrade to >13.7 (e.g., 13.8 or latest 13.x); branch 15.x upgrade to >15.2 (e.g., 15.3 or latest 15.x)

  1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA GPU driver version using 'nvidia-smi' or 'cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version'
  2. Determine which version branch (11.x, 13.x, or 15.x) is currently in use
  3. Download the latest NVIDIA GPU driver for Linux from the official NVIDIA website (https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx) or your distribution's package repository
  4. Stop the X server or graphical display manager (e.g., 'sudo systemctl stop gdm' or 'sudo systemctl stop lightdm')
  5. Uninstall the current driver (e.g., 'sudo apt remove nvidia-driver-*' on Debian/Ubuntu or 'sudo yum remove nvidia-driver-*' on RHEL/CentOS)
  6. Install the updated driver package from the downloaded installer or repository
  7. Reboot the system ('sudo reboot')
  8. Verify the new driver version is installed using 'nvidia-smi'
Caveat Upgrade may require X server restart and may have compatibility implications with specific CUDA versions or kernel modules; review release notes for known issues

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Gpu Display Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-25516 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data