CVE-2024-0131 Overview
NVIDIA GPU kernel driver for Windows and Linux contains a vulnerability where a potential user-mode attacker could read a buffer with an incorrect length. This vulnerability, classified as CWE-805 (Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value), affects the NVIDIA GPU kernel driver and could allow a local attacker with elevated privileges to cause a denial of service condition on affected systems.
Critical Impact
A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to denial of service, potentially disrupting GPU-dependent workloads and system stability.
Affected Products
- NVIDIA GPU Kernel Driver for Windows
- NVIDIA GPU Kernel Driver for Linux
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-02-02 - CVE CVE-2024-0131 published to NVD
- 2025-02-02 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-0131
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability stems from improper buffer length handling within the NVIDIA GPU kernel driver. The driver fails to properly validate the length parameter when reading from a buffer, allowing a user-mode attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds read operation. Since the attack vector is local and requires high privileges, exploitation requires the attacker to already have elevated access to the target system.
The vulnerability is classified under CWE-805 (Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value), indicating that the code accesses a buffer using a length value that is incorrect or improperly validated. When exploited, this can lead to reading memory beyond the intended buffer boundaries, potentially causing system instability or crashes.
Root Cause
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient validation of buffer length parameters within the NVIDIA GPU kernel driver. When processing certain requests from user-mode applications, the driver does not adequately verify that the specified buffer length matches the actual buffer size, leading to potential out-of-bounds memory access conditions.
Attack Vector
The attack requires local access to the system with high privileges. An attacker would need to craft a malicious request to the GPU kernel driver with an incorrect buffer length parameter. Upon processing this malformed request, the driver would attempt to read beyond the allocated buffer boundaries, potentially causing a denial of service condition.
The vulnerability mechanism involves sending specially crafted IOCTL calls or driver requests with manipulated length values that exceed the actual buffer allocation. See the NVIDIA Security Advisory for complete technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-0131
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected system crashes or blue screens related to NVIDIA GPU driver components
- Abnormal GPU driver behavior or repeated driver restarts
- System event logs showing kernel-mode exceptions in NVIDIA driver modules
- Unusual user-mode applications interacting with GPU driver interfaces
Detection Strategies
- Monitor system logs for kernel panic events or driver crashes associated with NVIDIA GPU components
- Implement endpoint detection rules to identify abnormal IOCTL patterns targeting GPU drivers
- Deploy SentinelOne Singularity platform to detect anomalous driver interactions and potential exploitation attempts
- Review Windows Event Viewer or Linux kernel logs for repeated GPU driver failures
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable enhanced logging for GPU driver operations where supported
- Configure SentinelOne agents to alert on suspicious driver-level activity
- Implement baseline monitoring for GPU driver stability metrics
- Monitor for processes making unusual or excessive calls to GPU driver interfaces
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-0131
Immediate Actions Required
- Review the NVIDIA Security Advisory for affected driver versions and available patches
- Update NVIDIA GPU drivers to the latest patched version as specified by NVIDIA
- Restrict access to systems with NVIDIA GPU drivers to trusted users only
- Monitor affected systems for signs of exploitation attempts
Patch Information
NVIDIA has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Administrators should consult the NVIDIA Customer Support Answer for specific patch versions and download links. Apply the latest NVIDIA GPU driver updates through official NVIDIA channels to remediate this vulnerability.
Workarounds
- Limit local access to affected systems to only necessary personnel with legitimate administrative requirements
- Implement application whitelisting to restrict which applications can interact with GPU drivers
- Consider temporarily isolating GPU-dependent workloads on patched systems where immediate updates are not feasible
- Enable additional system auditing to detect potential exploitation attempts
# Verify current NVIDIA driver version on Linux
nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv
# Check Windows NVIDIA driver version via command line
wmic path win32_VideoController get DriverVersion,Name | findstr NVIDIA
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
