CVE-2017-0309 Freebsd CVE debrief

Who should care

Organizations that run NVIDIA GPU Display Driver on endpoints, workstations, servers, VDI hosts, or other systems where untrusted or low-privilege users may obtain local access. Security teams should also care where GPU drivers are deployed broadly through fleet imaging or package management.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is described as one or more integer overflows in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver kernel-mode layer handler. Those overflows can cause improper memory allocation in kernel context. NVD classifies the weakness as CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound). The reported impact includes denial of service and potential escalation of privileges. NVD’s CVSS vector shows a local, low-privilege attack with changed scope and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Defensive priority

High. Although the attack is local, the combination of low required privileges, kernel-level impact, and potential privilege escalation makes this a strong remediation candidate for systems exposing NVIDIA GPU drivers to interactive users or multi-user environments.

Recommended defensive actions

• Identify systems running NVIDIA GPU Display Driver and compare installed versions against the vendor advisory and NVD record.
• Prioritize patching or driver updates on shared workstations, developer systems, VDI hosts, and any multi-user Linux/Windows environments.
• Restrict untrusted local access where practical, especially on systems with elevated-value data or admin credentials.
• Monitor vendor guidance and release notes for the affected driver branch before and after updating.
• If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting local account use and applying least-privilege controls until remediation is complete.

Evidence notes

The supplied corpus states: "All versions of NVIDIA GPU Display Driver contain a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer handler where multiple integer overflows may cause improper memory allocation leading to a denial of service or potential escalation of privileges." NVD assigns CVSS 3.0 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H and CWE-190. The provided references include the official NVIDIA PSIRT advisory URL (http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4398) and the NVD record. Note: the supplied vendor field in the prompt is inconsistent with the vulnerability text and NVD vulnerable CPE entry, which identifies NVIDIA GPU driver as the affected product.

Official resources