dbcve.org
Gpu Display DriverApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2025-33221

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 535.309.01 / 539.72 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
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 Display Driver for Windows and Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel driver, where a user could cause an incorrect permission assignment for a critical resource. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to data tampering 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 Display Driver for Windows and Linux contains a kernel-mode driver vulnerability where incorrect permission assignment occurs for a critical system resource, allowing a local user to potentially manipulate permissions and cause data tampering or denial of service.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA driver update containing the fix when released; prioritize patching systems with untrusted users or network-adjacent attack surfaces given the local privilege escalation potential.

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:>= 535, < 535.309.01>= 535, < 539.72>= 580, < 580.159.03>= 580, < 582.53>= 595, < 595.36>= 595, < 595.71.05

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Check if NVIDIA display driver is installed
    On Windows: Open Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters' and look for NVIDIA GPU entries. On Linux: Run 'lspci | grep -i nvidia' or check /proc/driver/nvidia/version
    Affected if No NVIDIA GPU/driver found means not affected by this CVE
  2. Identify the installed driver version
    On Windows: Right-click NVIDIA icon in system tray, select 'Control Panel', look at 'Driver Version' under System Information, or run 'nvidia-smi' from command line. On Linux: Run 'nvidia-smi' or check 'cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version'
    Affected if Version cannot be determined - further investigation needed
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Check if version falls within any of these ranges: 535.x (affected <535.309.01 and <539.72), 580.x (affected <580.159.03 and <582.53), 595.x (affected <595.36 and <595.71.05). Note: 535 branch has two separate patch versions (535.309.01 and 539.72) covering different scenarios
    Affected if Installed version is within any of the affected ranges listed - system is potentially vulnerable
  4. Verify kernel driver component is loaded
    On Windows: Check if NVIDIA kernel driver service is running (services.msc or 'sc query nvlddmkm'). On Linux: Run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to confirm nvidia kernel modules are loaded
    Affected if Kernel driver not loaded/active reduces exploitability but vulnerability still exists in driver files
  5. Check driver file permissions (Windows)
    Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ and check ntfs permissions on nvlddmkm.sys - verify only privileged users/system have write access
    Affected if Non-privileged users have write access to driver files indicates the permission flaw may be present

System is affected if NVIDIA display driver is installed with a version falling within any of the specified affected ranges and the kernel driver component is present on the 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 535.309.01 / 539.72 / 580.159.03 or later
Fixed in 535.309.01539.72580.159.03
Interim mitigation

Apply the NVIDIA driver update containing the fix when released; prioritize patching systems with untrusted users or network-adjacent attack surfaces given the local privilege escalation potential.

Recommended fix High confidence

535.309.01 (for 535 branch), 539.72 (for 539 branch), 580.159.03 (for 580 branch), or 582.53 (for 582 branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed NVIDIA display driver version via nvidia-smi (Linux) or Device Manager (Windows)
  2. 2. For driver branch 535.x: upgrade to version 535.309.01 or later
  3. 3. For driver branch 539.x: upgrade to version 539.72 or later
  4. 4. For driver branch 580.x: upgrade to version 580.159.03 or later
  5. 5. For driver branch 582.x: upgrade to version 582.53 or later
  6. 6. Download the appropriate driver from the official NVIDIA website (nvidia.com) or your system vendor
  7. 7. Install the new driver following standard procedures (may require administrator/root privileges)
  8. 8. Reboot the system to ensure the new kernel driver loads properly
Caveat Driver updates may require compatible hardware; verify GPU model support before upgrading; some legacy features may be deprecated in newer branches

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2025-33221 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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