CVE-2026-47542 in GeForce
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2026
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows and Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer where an attacker could cause improper input validation. 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 • 09/30/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the kernel-mode components of the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for both Windows and Linux operating systems. This specific flaw is characterized by improper input validation mechanisms that fail to adequately sanitize or verify user-supplied data before it is processed by privileged system routines. In modern computing architectures, particularly those involving hardware acceleration like GPUs, the boundary between user-space applications and kernel-space drivers represents a critical attack surface. When this boundary lacks rigorous checks, malicious actors can craft specific inputs designed to bypass existing security controls, leading to severe compromises in system integrity and availability.
From a technical perspective, improper input validation allows an attacker to manipulate internal data structures or control flow within the driver's execution context. Because kernel-mode code operates with high-level privileges, any error in handling external input can result in memory corruption, such as buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions, which are commonly exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution. The lack of strict validation means that crafted packets or API calls can trigger undefined behavior within the driver, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite critical system variables or execute shellcode with the same privileges as the operating system kernel itself.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is multifaceted and severe due to its location in a widely deployed graphics subsystem. A successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution on the target machine, granting attackers full control over the affected system. Furthermore, it facilitates privilege escalation, allowing lower-privileged users or processes to gain administrative rights by exploiting the driver's elevated permissions. Denial of service is also a significant risk, as malformed inputs can crash the graphics subsystem or the entire operating system, disrupting critical operations. Additionally, the vulnerability may enable information disclosure, where sensitive data stored in kernel memory could be leaked, and data tampering, where integrity of system files or configurations could be compromised without detection.
This type of flaw aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) category CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, which describes scenarios where software does not properly validate input before processing it. In the context of attack frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK, this vulnerability supports techniques related to Initial Access and Privilege Escalation, specifically those involving driver exploitation or kernel-level code injection. Attackers often leverage these types of vulnerabilities in targeted campaigns to establish persistent footholds within enterprise environments where GPU acceleration is prevalent for rendering, machine learning, or cryptographic operations.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve the immediate application of vendor-provided patches that address the input validation logic within the affected driver versions. System administrators should prioritize updating NVIDIA display drivers on all endpoints running Windows and Linux distributions to ensure these security fixes are deployed. In environments where patching is not immediately feasible, network segmentation can help limit exposure by restricting access to systems with vulnerable drivers from untrusted networks. Additionally, implementing strict application whitelisting policies can prevent unauthorized executables from interacting with the graphics driver APIs, thereby reducing the attack surface available for exploitation of this input validation flaw.