NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): NULL dereference in the escape handler causing a system crash

CVSS 5.5CVE-2021-1096NVIDIA / GPU stackcurated

Impact

NULL dereference in the escape handler causing a system crash. Any local process with GPU access can reboot the node.

Who can reach it

Any local user with GPU device access on a Windows host.

What to do

Install the fixed Windows GPU Display Driver branch listed in the NVIDIA bulletin. nvlddmkm.sys is a kernel driver: the swap needs a host reboot, so on a Windows GPU node this is a drain-and-reboot, not a live driver reload. No VBIOS or BMC flash involved.

References

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1096

Related entries

NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): A NULL pointer created in user-mode code is dereferencedCVE-2021-1116 · NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)Medium
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): Improper access control in the escape handler leaks informationCVE-2021-1055 · NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)Medium
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): Improper input validation in the escape handler under specificCVE-2021-1117 · NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)Medium
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): No rate limiting in the kernel-mode scheduler: a local process floodsCVE-2020-5982 · NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)Medium
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): Any local account on a Windows GPU host can call the driver's escapeCVE-2018-6247 · NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)High
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys): Out-of-bounds kernel read/write from an unprivileged escape callCVE-2018-6248 · NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)High

All NVIDIA / GPU stack entries

This entry is curated: imported from vendor advisories with machine assistance, not yet individually verified. Confirm against your vendor's advisory before acting, and report anything wrong.