CVE-2026-24195 Overview
CVE-2026-24195 affects the NVIDIA Display Driver for Linux. The vulnerability resides in the Unified Virtual Memory (UVM) component and stems from improper input validation [CWE-20]. A local user with low privileges can submit malformed input to UVM and trigger a denial of service condition on the host.
The issue is locally exploitable and does not require user interaction. Successful exploitation impacts availability but does not directly expose confidentiality or integrity. The scope is marked as Changed, indicating that the affected component can disrupt resources beyond its own security authority, such as the kernel or other processes sharing the GPU.
Critical Impact
Local low-privileged attackers can crash or destabilize systems running vulnerable NVIDIA Linux drivers through malformed UVM requests, producing host-wide denial of service on GPU-dependent workloads.
Affected Products
- NVIDIA Display Driver for Linux (UVM component)
- Linux systems using NVIDIA GPU drivers with Unified Virtual Memory enabled
- GPU-accelerated workloads including AI/ML, virtualization, and HPC platforms relying on affected driver branches
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-05-26 - CVE-2026-24195 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-05-26 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-24195
Vulnerability Analysis
The defect lives in the Unified Virtual Memory (UVM) subsystem of the NVIDIA Display Driver for Linux. UVM provides a shared address space between CPU and GPU, exposed to userland through device nodes such as /dev/nvidia-uvm. Improper validation of user-controlled input passed through this interface allows a local attacker to drive the driver into an unrecoverable state.
The weakness is classified as Improper Input Validation [CWE-20]. The driver accepts parameters from a userspace caller without sufficiently checking bounds, types, or structural invariants before acting on them. The mismatch between expected and actual input leads to faulty kernel-side processing.
The exploit path is local and requires no special privileges or user interaction. Confidentiality and integrity are not impacted, but availability is high: the GPU or the host kernel can become unresponsive, breaking workloads that depend on the affected driver.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or inadequate sanitization of arguments passed to UVM ioctl handlers. When a crafted request reaches the driver, internal state transitions or memory operations proceed on invalid assumptions, producing faults that cascade into denial of service.
Attack Vector
An unprivileged local user opens the UVM device interface and issues a crafted ioctl with malformed parameters. The driver fails to reject the input safely and enters an error path that exhausts resources or destabilizes the kernel module. In multi-tenant or container environments where GPU devices are exposed to workloads, a single tenant can disrupt shared GPU services.
No verified public proof-of-concept code is available for CVE-2026-24195. Refer to the NVIDIA Support Article for vendor-supplied technical guidance.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24195
Indicators of Compromise
- Repeated kernel oops, panics, or Xid messages from the nvidia-uvm module in dmesg or /var/log/kern.log
- Sudden GPU unavailability or driver reset events on hosts with active local user sessions or containers
- Unexplained termination of CUDA, ML training, or rendering workloads correlated with unprivileged process activity
Detection Strategies
- Monitor kernel ring buffer logs for faults referencing nvidia_uvm, uvm_api, or related symbols
- Correlate process execution telemetry with GPU device access through /dev/nvidia-uvm and /dev/nvidia-uvm-tools
- Baseline expected GPU workloads and alert on ioctl patterns originating from non-standard binaries or short-lived processes
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable Linux audit rules for opens against NVIDIA device nodes by non-service accounts
- Track NVIDIA driver version inventory across endpoints and servers to identify hosts still running vulnerable branches
- Forward kernel and GPU telemetry to a centralized SIEM for correlation with user activity
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24195
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the fixed NVIDIA Display Driver for Linux release as documented in the vendor advisory
- Inventory all Linux systems, containers, and Kubernetes nodes using NVIDIA GPUs and prioritize patching of multi-user and multi-tenant hosts
- Restrict local shell and container access on GPU-equipped systems to trusted users only
Patch Information
NVIDIA has published guidance and fixed driver versions in the NVIDIA Support Article. Review the CVE.org Record for CVE-2026-24195 and the NVD CVE-2026-24195 Detail for affected branches and remediation versions. Apply the vendor-supplied driver update through your standard package management workflow.
Workarounds
- Limit access to /dev/nvidia-uvm and related device files using filesystem permissions or Linux Security Modules where workloads permit
- Disable UVM features in environments that do not require unified memory until the patched driver is deployed
- Apply mandatory access control policies (SELinux, AppArmor) to confine which binaries may issue ioctls to NVIDIA device nodes
# Example: restrict access to NVIDIA UVM device nodes to a dedicated group
sudo groupadd gpu-users
sudo chown root:gpu-users /dev/nvidia-uvm /dev/nvidia-uvm-tools
sudo chmod 0660 /dev/nvidia-uvm /dev/nvidia-uvm-tools
# Verify installed driver version
nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
