CVE-2026-47548 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 an out-of-bounds write. 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 security flaw resides within the kernel-mode components of the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for both Windows and Linux operating systems. This specific vulnerability is classified as an out-of-bounds write condition, which represents a critical memory safety error where software writes data to a memory location outside the boundaries of the intended buffer or array. In the context of graphics processing unit drivers, such operations often occur during complex rendering pipelines, shader execution contexts, or when handling malformed display commands sent from user-space applications. The kernel mode layer operates with the highest level of system privileges, meaning that any corruption of memory structures in this domain can have profound consequences for the stability and security of the entire host system.
From a technical perspective, an out-of-bounds write allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory contents that were not intended to be modified by the specific operation triggering the vulnerability. This could involve overwriting function pointers, control flow data structures such as stack canaries or return addresses, or critical kernel objects like access control lists and security tokens. The precise nature of the corruption depends on the layout of memory at the time of exploitation, but the fundamental issue is the lack of sufficient bounds checking before writing to a pointer derived from user-controlled input or internal driver state that has been manipulated by an attacker. This flaw aligns with CWE-787, which defines out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities as occurring when software writes data past the end or before the beginning of the intended buffer.
The operational impact of successfully exploiting this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted. Because the exploit occurs in kernel mode, a successful attack can lead to arbitrary code execution with system-level privileges. This effectively grants an attacker full control over the compromised machine, allowing them to install malware, create new administrative accounts, or exfiltrate sensitive data. Furthermore, the instability caused by memory corruption often results in immediate denial of service conditions, manifesting as driver crashes, system freezes, or blue screens on Windows and kernel panics on Linux systems. The vulnerability also facilitates privilege escalation if a lower-privileged user can trigger the condition to gain higher-level access, and it enables information disclosure by allowing the reading of sensitive memory contents adjacent to the overwritten buffer through subsequent exploitation techniques that leverage the corrupted state for arbitrary read operations.
In terms of threat modeling and industry standards, this type of vulnerability is frequently associated with ATT&CK technique T1055, which covers Process Injection, as well as T1068, Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. Attackers typically target these driver vulnerabilities to establish a foothold in the system or to move laterally within an enterprise network by compromising high-value assets that rely on GPU acceleration for rendering or computation tasks. The presence of such flaws in widely deployed graphics drivers highlights the risk associated with third-party kernel modules, which often have extensive attack surfaces due to their need to interact with various hardware states and user-space applications.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying vendor-provided patches as soon as they become available, ensuring that the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver is updated to a version where this out-of-bounds write condition has been remediated through improved input validation and memory safety checks. In environments where immediate patching is not feasible, defense-in-depth measures should be employed. These include enabling kernel-level exploit mitigation technologies such as Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR), Data Execution Prevention (DEP), and Control Flow Guard to make exploitation more difficult. Additionally, restricting the ability of untrusted users or applications to interact directly with GPU hardware interfaces can reduce the attack surface. Regular auditing of driver updates and monitoring for anomalous system behavior indicative of kernel-level instability are also recommended practices to maintain a secure computing environment against such high-severity vulnerabilities.