CVE-2026-47505 in GeForce
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2026
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer where an attacker could cause a use-after-free. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to code execution, denial of service, or escalation of privileges, information disclosure, and data tampering.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/30/2026
The NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows presents a critical security risk due to a memory management flaw located within its kernel-mode components. This specific vulnerability is classified as a use-after-free error, which occurs when the driver fails to properly manage the lifecycle of allocated memory structures. In this scenario, the system retains a reference to a block of memory that has already been freed and potentially reallocated for other purposes. When the vulnerable code subsequently attempts to access or manipulate data within this stale pointer, it interacts with invalid or unpredictable memory contents rather than the intended object. This fundamental breakdown in memory safety principles is widely recognized under industry standards as CWE-416, which highlights the dangers of accessing freed memory without proper validation checks.
The operational impact of exploiting this kernel-mode vulnerability is severe and multifaceted because the NVIDIA driver operates with high-level system privileges within the Windows operating environment. An attacker who can trigger this condition through a specially crafted application or malicious input may achieve arbitrary code execution on the host machine. Since the exploit occurs in kernel mode, successful exploitation allows the adversary to bypass standard user-mode security boundaries and gain control over the entire system. This capability directly facilitates privilege escalation, enabling low-privilege users to attain administrative rights or SYSTEM-level access. Furthermore, the instability caused by accessing freed memory can lead to immediate denial of service conditions where the graphics driver crashes, resulting in a blue screen of death or system reboot that disrupts business continuity and operational availability.
Beyond execution and stability issues, this vulnerability opens pathways for sensitive data compromise. The use-after-free condition may allow an attacker to read arbitrary kernel memory contents, leading to information disclosure of cryptographic keys, session tokens, or other confidential user data stored in the vicinity of the freed object. Additionally, by controlling how the reallocated memory is interpreted, an adversary could perform data tampering operations that alter system configurations or corrupt critical application states without detection. These capabilities align with several tactics within the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to privilege escalation such as T1068 and exploitation for defense evasion like T1055, which involves injecting code into processes running in a higher integrity level than the attacker's process.
To mitigate these risks, organizations must prioritize the immediate deployment of vendor-provided patches that address the memory management logic within the kernel-mode driver. Security administrators should enforce strict update policies to ensure all endpoints are running versions of the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver where this flaw has been remediated through proper pointer nullification and reference counting corrections. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible, implementing application whitelisting solutions can restrict the execution of untrusted binaries that might attempt to trigger the vulnerability. Additionally, enabling kernel-mode exploit protection features such as Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR) and Data Execution Prevention (DEP) in Windows can significantly raise the barrier for successful exploitation by making it more difficult for attackers to predict memory layouts or execute injected code within protected regions of system memory.