CVE-2026-47586 in GeForce
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2026
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows and Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel module where an attacker 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 NVIDIA GPU display driver for both Windows and Linux operating systems contains a critical security flaw within its kernel module architecture that manifests as a use-after-free condition. This type of vulnerability arises when the software continues to reference memory after it has been freed or deallocated, often due to improper management of object lifecycles in high-performance computing environments where GPU drivers operate at ring zero with extensive system access. In this specific instance, the kernel module fails to properly validate pointers before accessing previously released memory regions associated with display processing tasks. This lapse allows an attacker who has achieved local execution on the target machine to manipulate these dangling pointers, triggering undefined behavior within the driver's core logic. The presence of such a flaw in graphics drivers is particularly concerning because GPU subsystems often handle sensitive rendering pipelines and hardware abstraction layers that are deeply integrated into the operating system kernel space.
From an operational perspective, the exploitation of this use-after-free vulnerability can lead to severe consequences ranging from denial of service to full remote code execution depending on the context and privilege level of the attacking process. If exploited successfully, an attacker could crash the graphics subsystem or even the entire operating system, resulting in a complete loss of availability for users relying on GPU-accelerated applications. More critically, by carefully crafting memory corruption payloads, an adversary can achieve arbitrary code execution within kernel mode. This capability effectively bypasses standard user-mode security boundaries, allowing the compromise to escalate from a low-privilege application to full administrative control over the host system. Such escalation enables unauthorized modifications to critical system files, installation of persistent backdoors, and complete takeover of sensitive data stored on the device.
The technical nature of this flaw aligns closely with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-416, which describes use-after-free errors resulting from improper memory management practices. In terms of offensive security frameworks, this vulnerability facilitates techniques categorized under MITRE ATT&CK as privilege escalation and defense evasion through kernel exploitation. Attackers can leverage the unstable state induced by the dangling pointer to overwrite function pointers or control flow data structures within the driver module, thereby redirecting execution paths to malicious shellcode injected into memory. The impact extends beyond simple system instability; it introduces significant risks of information disclosure where sensitive cryptographic keys or user credentials residing in kernel memory may be leaked through side-channel effects or direct memory reads facilitated by the corrupted state. Furthermore, data tampering becomes feasible as the attacker gains write access to arbitrary physical and virtual memory addresses controlled by the GPU driver subsystem.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve applying vendor-provided patches that address the underlying memory management logic within the NVIDIA display drivers. System administrators should prioritize updating graphics drivers on all workstations and servers running affected versions of Windows or Linux distributions to ensure that the corrected kernel module is deployed. In environments where immediate patching is not feasible, implementing strict application whitelisting policies can help prevent unauthorized processes from interacting with the GPU driver interface in ways that might trigger the vulnerability. Additionally, enabling hardware-enforced stack protection and memory integrity features such as Windows Kernel Memory Integrity or Linux KASLR enhancements adds layers of defense-in-depth that make exploitation significantly more difficult by randomizing code locations and validating stack integrity during runtime operations. Regular auditing of installed software versions against known vulnerable lists remains essential for maintaining a secure posture in systems reliant on accelerated graphics processing units.