dbcve.org
Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2023-31020

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 13.9 / 15.4 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 Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer, where an unprivileged regular user can cause improper access control, which may lead to denial of service or data tampering.

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 Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer where an unprivileged regular user can exploit improper access controls to potentially cause denial of service or data tampering. The flaw exists in the kernel-mode component of the display driver, allowing local privilege escalation or manipulation of GPU resources.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver update/patch provided by NVIDIA to address the kernel mode access control vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching systems with graphics drivers accessible to unprivileged users.

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
Virtual GpuApplication
Affected:< 13.9>= 14.0, < 15.4>= 16.0, < 16.2

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Identify if NVIDIA Virtual GPU software is installed
    Check the Windows Control Panel under Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product' and filter for NVIDIA Virtual GPU or nvidia products
    Affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU or related NVIDIA display driver software appears in the installed programs list
  2. Determine the installed NVIDIA Virtual GPU version
    Open NVIDIA Control Panel and go to 'System Information' or run 'nvidia-smi' from an elevated command prompt to retrieve driver version details
    Affected if The displayed version falls within < 13.9, or >= 14.0 and < 15.4, or >= 16.0 and < 16.2
  3. Verify kernel-mode display driver presence
    Check Windows Device Manager under 'Display adapters' for NVIDIA GPU devices and verify the driver file properties. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers and look for nv*.sys files (such as nvlddmkm.sys)
    Affected if NVIDIA kernel-mode display drivers are present on the system
  4. Confirm user access context
    Review which user accounts have interactive logon access to the system. Use 'net user' or check Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) to identify if non-administrator user accounts exist
    Affected if Unprivileged (non-admin) user accounts have access to log onto the system with the NVIDIA GPU driver loaded

A system is affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU software is installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND unprivileged users have access to log onto that system.

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 13.9 / 15.4 / 16.2 or later
Fixed in 13.915.416.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver update/patch provided by NVIDIA to address the kernel mode access control vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching systems with graphics drivers accessible to unprivileged users.

Recommended fix High confidence

13.9, 15.4, or 16.2 depending on version branch (13.9 for <13.9, 15.4 for 14.0-15.3, 16.2 for 16.0-16.1)

  1. 1. Identify the current NVIDIA Virtual GPU driver version installed on the Windows system using nvidia-smi or Device Manager
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are currently on (13.x, 14.x, 15.x, or 16.x) to select the appropriate upgrade path
  3. 3. Download the fixed driver version from NVIDIA's official support portal at nvidia.custhelp.com or your enterprise NVIDIA software repository
  4. 4. Uninstall the current NVIDIA Virtual GPU display driver from Windows Add/Remove Programs
  5. 5. Restart the system to ensure clean driver removal
  6. 6. Install the appropriate fixed version: 13.9 (if on 13.x branch), 15.4 (if on 14.x-15.x branch), or 16.2 (if on 16.x branch)
  7. 7. Restart the system after installation completes
  8. 8. Verify the new driver version is correctly installed using nvidia-smi
Caveat Driver updates may require guest VM restart; test in non-production environment first to verify compatibility with specific virtual GPU profile in use

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

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2023-31020 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