CVE-2026-47551 in GeForce Driver
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2026
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows and Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer where a user could cause a use-after-free. 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 classified as a use-after-free error, which occurs when software continues to use memory that has already been freed or deallocated by the system. In the context of graphics drivers, this typically involves complex interactions between user-space applications requesting rendering operations and kernel-space routines managing hardware resources such as video buffers, texture maps, or display contexts. When a driver fails to properly validate pointers after releasing associated memory structures, it creates an opportunity for malicious actors to manipulate these dangling references. The root cause often stems from race conditions during resource cleanup sequences where the timing of deallocation does not align with subsequent access attempts by other threads or interrupt handlers within the kernel environment.
From a technical perspective, use-after-free vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they allow attackers to control what data is written into freed memory regions before that memory is reallocated for legitimate purposes. By carefully crafting input payloads and manipulating timing conditions, an attacker can force the driver to write arbitrary values into these reclaimed memory blocks. If the system subsequently reallocates this memory to hold sensitive kernel structures or function pointers, the injected data can overwrite critical control flow mechanisms. This mechanism enables a wide range of malicious outcomes depending on how the overwritten memory is utilized by the operating system and the specific state of the GPU driver at the time of exploitation.
The operational impact of successfully exploiting this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted. The most critical consequence is remote or local code execution, allowing an attacker to run arbitrary commands with the high privileges granted to kernel-mode drivers. This effectively compromises the integrity of the entire host system since kernel-level access bypasses standard user-space security boundaries. Additionally, attackers can trigger denial-of-service conditions by causing kernel panics or driver crashes through invalid memory accesses, leading to system instability and unavailability of graphical services. Furthermore, the vulnerability facilitates privilege escalation, enabling a low-privileged user account to gain administrative control over the machine. Information disclosure is also possible as leaked pointers may reveal internal kernel addresses used for bypassing address space layout randomization protections. Data tampering remains another significant risk where critical system files or configuration data could be altered without authorization.
In terms of industry standard classifications, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-416 which defines use-after-free errors involving the reuse of memory after it has been freed. It also relates to CWE-362 concerning concurrent execution race conditions if the flaw is triggered by timing-based attacks on shared resources. From a tactical perspective as defined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability supports techniques such as T1055 Process Injection for code execution and T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. The ability to read kernel memory also maps to T1057 Process Discovery or general information gathering activities depending on the specific exploitation path taken by the adversary.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve applying vendor-provided security patches that address the improper handling of freed memory pointers within the driver codebase. System administrators should ensure that NVIDIA GPU drivers are updated to the latest stable versions which include fixes for these kernel-mode flaws. For environments where immediate patching is not feasible, restricting user access to graphics-intensive applications or disabling unnecessary display features can reduce the attack surface. Additionally, enabling hardware-enforced stack protection and memory integrity features provided by modern operating systems like Windows Defender Credential Guard or Linux Kernel Self-Protection modules can help mitigate the impact of such vulnerabilities by limiting the ability to execute injected code even if a use-after-free condition is triggered. Regular auditing of driver versions and monitoring for unusual kernel-level activity are recommended practices to maintain system security posture against these types of low-level exploits.