CVE-2016-8806 in Graphics Driver
Summary
by MITRE
For the NVIDIA Quadro, NVS, and GeForce products, NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver R340 before 342.00, R367 before 369.59, and R375 before 375.63 contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgDdiEscape ID 0x5000027 where a pointer passed from an user to the driver is used without validation, leading to denial of service or potential escalation of privileges.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-8806 resides within the NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver ecosystem, specifically affecting Quadro, NVS, and GeForce product lines. This security flaw manifests in the kernel mode layer component known as nvlddmkm.sys, which serves as the critical interface between user-mode applications and the graphics hardware. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the kernel level where privileges are elevated, creating a potential pathway for privilege escalation attacks that could compromise system integrity.
The technical flaw occurs within the DxgDdiEscape handler for escape ID 0x5000027, which is part of the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) interface. This handler receives pointers from user-mode applications and processes them without adequate validation checks. When a malicious user application submits a specially crafted pointer to this kernel-mode handler, the driver fails to validate the pointer's legitimacy before dereferencing it. This pointer validation failure represents a classic instance of improper input validation, which maps directly to CWE-125: "Out-of-bounds Read" and CWE-787: "Out-of-bounds Write" in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially enable privilege escalation attacks. When the kernel-mode driver processes an invalid pointer, it can cause system crashes and blue screen errors, resulting in denial of service. However, more critically, if an attacker can manipulate the pointer to point to controlled memory locations, they may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges. This capability would allow attackers to bypass standard security mechanisms, install malicious drivers, modify system files, or extract sensitive information from memory. The vulnerability affects multiple driver versions including R340 before 342.00, R367 before 369.59, and R375 before 375.63, indicating a widespread exposure across various driver releases.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to privilege escalation and defense evasion. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access to compromised systems by gaining kernel-level privileges, which would allow them to manipulate the system at the most fundamental level. The attack surface is particularly concerning because graphics drivers are often running with elevated privileges and are frequently targeted by attackers seeking to establish footholds in enterprise environments where high-performance graphics processing is common.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability involves immediate patching of affected NVIDIA driver versions to the recommended releases that contain fixes for the pointer validation issue. System administrators should prioritize updating all affected systems, particularly those in enterprise environments where graphics-intensive applications are prevalent. Additionally, implementing runtime protections such as kernel-mode exploit protection, driver signature enforcement, and monitoring for suspicious driver behavior can provide additional defense layers. Organizations should also consider reducing the attack surface by limiting user privileges and ensuring that only trusted applications have access to graphics processing capabilities. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation in kernel-mode drivers and serves as a reminder of the potential consequences when such validation is omitted or insufficiently implemented.