#VU55036 Insecure DLL loading in NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver and NVIDIA vGPU Software - CVE-2021-1089

Vulnerability identifier: #VU55036

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-1089

CWE-ID: CWE-427

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver
Client/Desktop applications / Virtualization software
NVIDIA vGPU Software
Client/Desktop applications / Other client software

Vendor: nVidia

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to the application loads DLL libraries in an insecure manner in nvidia-smi. A local user can place a malicious .dll file on the system and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver: before 392.67

NVIDIA vGPU Software: before 8.8

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External links
https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5211

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.