CVE-2016-4959 in Graphics Driver
Summary
by MITRE
For the NVIDIA Quadro, NVS, GeForce products, there is a Remote Desktop denial of service. A successful exploit of a vulnerable system will result in a kernel null pointer dereference, causing a blue screen crash.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/27/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-4959 represents a critical remote denial of service flaw affecting NVIDIA graphics drivers across Quadro, NVS, and GeForce product lines. This vulnerability resides within the kernel-level graphics driver components that handle remote desktop connections, creating a pathway for malicious actors to disrupt system operations. The flaw specifically manifests when the graphics driver processes certain remote desktop protocol communications, leading to a kernel null pointer dereference condition that terminates system stability.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through malformed remote desktop protocol packets that trigger the null pointer dereference in the graphics kernel driver. When the driver attempts to access a null memory pointer during remote desktop session handling, the operating system kernel crashes with a blue screen error, effectively rendering the affected system unavailable. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-476 which defines null pointer dereference as a common programming error where a null pointer is dereferenced without proper validation. The vulnerability affects multiple NVIDIA graphics product lines, indicating a widespread impact across professional and consumer graphics hardware.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-4959 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can compromise business continuity for organizations relying on remote desktop infrastructure. Systems running affected NVIDIA drivers become vulnerable to remote exploitation without requiring authentication, making them attractive targets for attackers seeking to cause operational disruption. The blue screen crashes can occur at any time during remote desktop sessions, potentially interrupting critical business processes and causing data loss. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which covers network denial of service attacks and represents a significant threat to remote desktop services in enterprise environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate driver updates from NVIDIA, as the flaw exists in the kernel driver components that cannot be patched through standard software updates. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit exposure of systems running affected drivers and consider disabling remote desktop functionality until patches are deployed. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of kernel-level security testing and the potential for graphics drivers to serve as attack vectors for system compromise. Security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts and implement network-based intrusion detection systems to identify malicious remote desktop protocol traffic targeting this specific vulnerability.