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Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2023-31027

HIGH · 7.3 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

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 that allows Windows users with low levels of privilege to escalate privileges when an administrator is updating GPU drivers, which may lead to escalation of privileges.

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 local privilege escalation vulnerability where low-privilege Windows users can gain elevated access during the driver update process performed by an administrator. The flaw allows exploitation of the driver installation/update mechanism to achieve arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA GPU driver update patch when available. Until then, restrict driver installation permissions to highly trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious driver update activities.

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/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 for NVIDIA Virtual GPU components in Program Files (e.g., C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\vGpu\), or look for NVIDIA Virtual GPU services via Services.msc, or check Device Manager for NVIDIA vGPU devices.
    Affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU software is present on the system.
  2. Locate the installed NVIDIA Virtual GPU version
    Open the NVIDIA Control Panel or check Programs and Features in Windows to view the installed version. Alternatively, right-click the NVIDIA vGPU driver file in Device Manager > Properties > Driver tab to see the driver version.
    Affected if A version number is displayed in the NVIDIA software or driver details.
  3. Compare your version against the affected ranges
    Compare the installed version number to the following vulnerable ranges: versions below 13.9, OR versions 14.0 through 15.3.x, OR versions 16.0 through 16.1.x. Example: if you have version 15.2, that falls within the >=14.0, <15.4 range and is affected.
    Affected if The installed version falls into any of these ranges: <13.9, >=14.0 and <15.4, or >=16.0 and <16.2.
  4. Check if driver update or installation rights are improperly assigned
    Review the permissions on the NVIDIA driver installation directories and the NVIDIA Update Service. Ensure that standard user accounts do not have write/modify permissions to driver installation paths.
    Affected if Non-administrator users have write access to driver installation folders, which would allow exploitation of the privilege escalation flaw.

You are affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU is installed and the version falls below 13.9, between 14.0-15.3.x, or between 16.0-16.1.x, especially if non-admin users have write access to driver installation paths.

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 driver update patch when available. Until then, restrict driver installation permissions to highly trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious driver update activities.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to version 13.9 (for 12.x branch), 15.4 (for 14.x branch), or 16.2 or later (for 16.x branch) - recommend latest 16.x release such as 16.2

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA GPU Display Driver version on the Windows system by opening NVIDIA Control Panel or checking Device Manager > Display Adapters > GPU Properties > Driver tab.
  2. 2. Determine which version branch is currently installed (< 13.9, 14.x, or 15.x-16.x) to select the appropriate upgrade target.
  3. 3. Download the latest NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for your GPU from the official NVIDIA website (nvidia.com) or your enterprise deployment system.
  4. 4. Ensure you have administrator privileges as driver installation requires elevated permissions.
  5. 5. Run the downloaded driver installer as Administrator to apply the update, which will replace the vulnerable driver files with the fixed version.
  6. 6. Restart the system when prompted to complete the driver installation.
Caveat Driver updates may require a system restart and could reset some custom display settings; enterprise deployments should test in non-production environment first

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
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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-2023-31027 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