CVE-2017-6250 in GeForce Experience
Summary
by MITRE
NVIDIA GeForce Experience contains a vulnerability in NVIDIA Web Helper.exe, where untrusted script execution may lead to violation of application execution policy and local code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-6250 resides within NVIDIA GeForce Experience's NVIDIA Web Helper.exe component, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the application's execution policy enforcement mechanisms. This issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the web helper process, which is designed to facilitate communication between the GeForce Experience application and web-based services. The vulnerability creates an attack surface where malicious scripts can be executed within the context of the web helper process, effectively bypassing the application's intended security boundaries.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of script execution paths within the NVIDIA Web Helper.exe process, where untrusted code can be loaded and executed without proper authorization checks. This flaw operates at the intersection of privilege escalation and code injection techniques, allowing attackers to leverage the web helper's elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The vulnerability's classification as a local code execution issue means that successful exploitation requires local system access, but once achieved, it can provide attackers with the ability to execute malicious payloads with the privileges of the web helper process.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to enterprise environments where NVIDIA GeForce Experience is deployed across multiple systems. The web helper process typically runs with elevated privileges due to its role in system integration tasks, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to establish persistent access or escalate privileges within the compromised environment. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and potential lateral movement within networked environments where multiple gaming or professional workstation systems are present.
The security implications extend beyond immediate local execution capabilities, as this vulnerability can be leveraged as part of broader attack chains within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly under the techniques related to privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. Organizations should consider this vulnerability as a potential entry point for more sophisticated attacks, especially in environments where gaming or professional visualization workloads are common. The flaw's presence in a widely deployed application like NVIDIA GeForce Experience increases its attack surface potential, as it affects numerous endpoints that may not receive regular security updates or patches.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patch management to address the vulnerability within NVIDIA's software ecosystem, while also implementing broader endpoint protection measures that monitor for suspicious execution patterns in system processes. Network segmentation and application whitelisting policies can help reduce the impact of potential exploitation, particularly in enterprise environments where the web helper process may be exposed to untrusted network communications. Organizations should also consider implementing behavioral monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous script execution patterns within legitimate system processes, as this vulnerability represents a classic example of how legitimate system components can be abused to execute malicious code. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-74 and CWE-79 categories, representing weaknesses in input validation and script injection that can lead to unauthorized code execution within trusted application contexts.