CVE-2025-23244 in GPU Display Driver
Summary
by MITRE • 05/01/2025
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux contains a vulnerability which could allow an unprivileged attacker to escalate permissions. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to code execution, denial of service, escalation of privileges, information disclosure, and data tampering.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-23244 resides within the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux operating system component, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of the system's privilege management mechanisms. This vulnerability manifests in the driver's handling of certain GPU-related operations and memory management protocols, creating an exploitable condition that allows unprivileged user-level processes to gain elevated system privileges. The flaw specifically impacts the kernel-mode driver components responsible for GPU resource allocation and access control, where improper validation of user-space requests enables malicious code execution within kernel context. The vulnerability's presence in the display driver ecosystem is particularly concerning as it directly interfaces with the graphics processing unit's core functionalities and system memory management. Attackers can leverage this weakness to bypass standard security controls and execute arbitrary code with the highest system privileges, effectively compromising the entire computing environment. The exploitation requires minimal privileges initially, making it accessible to any user with basic system access, and the impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation to encompass complete system compromise. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-269 which addresses insufficient privilege management and CWE-787 which covers out-of-bounds write conditions that can lead to privilege escalation. The operational impact of this vulnerability spans multiple security domains including data integrity, system availability, and confidentiality, as attackers can manipulate system resources, access restricted data, and potentially establish persistent backdoors. The exploitation pathway typically involves crafting specific GPU commands or memory operations that trigger the flawed privilege handling mechanism, allowing attackers to execute code in kernel space and gain complete administrative control over the affected system.
The technical nature of CVE-2025-23244 stems from improper validation of GPU command processing within the kernel driver, where user-space applications can manipulate memory access patterns or command sequences to exploit race conditions or buffer handling issues. The vulnerability manifests when the driver fails to properly validate input parameters during GPU context switching or memory mapping operations, allowing untrusted input to influence kernel execution paths. This flaw specifically affects the driver's handling of graphics memory allocation and GPU register access, where insufficient bounds checking enables attackers to overwrite critical kernel memory structures. The exploit mechanism often involves leveraging the GPU's virtual memory management unit to redirect execution flow or manipulate kernel data structures, potentially enabling code execution in kernel context with elevated privileges. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers privilege escalation through kernel exploits and T1547 which addresses registry or kernel-level modifications for persistence. The affected NVIDIA driver components include the nvidia.ko kernel module and associated GPU management interfaces that handle graphics processing requests from user applications. The vulnerability's exploitation can occur through various attack vectors including direct GPU memory manipulation, graphics application abuse, or by leveraging existing system processes that utilize GPU acceleration. The impact extends to all Linux systems running affected NVIDIA GPU drivers, with particular risk to servers, workstations, and cloud environments that utilize GPU acceleration for compute-intensive tasks. Memory corruption patterns associated with this vulnerability can lead to system crashes or instability, providing potential denial of service capabilities alongside the privilege escalation mechanisms.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-23244 require immediate implementation of the latest NVIDIA driver updates and patches that address the specific privilege escalation flaw in the display driver components. System administrators should prioritize patching all affected systems and implement monitoring for suspicious GPU-related activities or unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. The vulnerability's exploitation can be detected through anomaly detection systems that monitor for unusual kernel memory access patterns or GPU command sequences that deviate from normal system behavior. Organizations should consider implementing additional security controls such as kernel module signing verification, restricted GPU access permissions, and application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution. Network segmentation and privilege separation can help limit the potential impact of successful exploitation by containing the compromise to specific system components. The recommended approach includes disabling unnecessary GPU acceleration features, implementing strict access controls for GPU resources, and maintaining detailed audit logs of GPU-related system calls. Security teams should also consider deploying endpoint detection and response solutions that can identify and block exploitation attempts targeting the specific vulnerability patterns. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of implemented controls and identify potential additional attack vectors. The mitigation process should also include educating system administrators and developers about the risks associated with GPU driver vulnerabilities and implementing secure coding practices for applications that utilize GPU acceleration. System recovery procedures should be established to quickly restore compromised systems to known good states, including maintaining secure backups of driver components and system configurations that can be used for rapid restoration.