Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessAuthenticate as low-privileged local user
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DeliveryCraft input with format specifiers
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ExploitReach driver format string sink
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ExecutionCorrupt memory / leak data
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ImpactEscalate privileges and execute code
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Format string safety
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an existing authenticated, low-privileged local account on a system running the affected NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux (GeForce, RTX/Quadro/NVS, or Tesla product lines) - there is no remote attack surface (AV:L). No user interaction is needed (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L), so once local access is held the format string defect (CWE-134) can be triggered directly by passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable driver interface. The primary limiting factor is the local-access prerequisite, which confines realistic risk to multi-user or multi-tenant GPU hosts (HPC, ML/AI training clusters, shared workstations, cloud GPU instances); single-user endpoints see minimal added exposure since the attacker would already control the account. Exact vulnerable driver versions and the specific component are not stated in the provided data. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.8) frames this as a high-severity LOCAL privilege-escalation class flaw: an already-authenticated low-privileged local user (PR:L) can trigger a format string defect (CWE-134) in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux with low complexity and no user interaction, yielding full C/I/A impact - consistent with code execution in a privileged driver/kernel context. Critically, this is NOT a remotely reachable bug: AV:L means the attacker must already have a foothold on the host, so it is an escalation/post-compromise primitive rather than an initial-access vector. No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC are present in the supplied data, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis'; there is no SSVC decision data provided. Real-world priority is therefore MODERATE-HIGH in contexts where untrusted or multi-tenant local users share GPU hosts (HPC clusters, ML/AI training servers, shared workstations, cloud GPU instances), and LOWER on single-user systems where the attacker would already hold the account being escalated from. No signals conflict - the description ('a user might be able to') aligns with the PR:L/AV:L vector. The vendor's hedged 'might lead to' language and absence of exploitation telemetry suggest this is a vendor-reported hardening fix, not observed active abuse. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged local user on a shared Linux GPU host (e.g., an ML training node or multi-tenant GPU cloud instance) invokes a driver interface, passing attacker-controlled input that reaches a format string used without a fixed format specifier. By supplying format directives (e.g., %n/%s/%x), they corrupt memory or leak data to escalate to root or the driver's privilege context. No public POC is currently identified, and exploitation requires prior local access (AV:L/PR:L) but no user interaction. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 30, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux lets an already-authenticated, low-privileged user trigger a format string defect (CWE-134) and potentially achieve code execution, privilege escalation, data tampering, denial of service, and information disclosure; NVIDIA rates it 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The attack surface is strictly local - there is no remote vector - so real risk concentrates on multi-user and multi-tenant GPU systems such as HPC clusters, ML/AI training nodes, shared engineering workstations, and cloud GPU instances, where a low-privileged tenant could reach the driver while other users' data and the host remain in scope. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV; the impact rating of total confidentiality, integrity, and availability loss is consistent with memory corruption inside a privileged driver context.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch version is identified in the provided intelligence, so the first action is to obtain the fixed NVIDIA Linux driver branch from NVIDIA's product-security advisory at https://github.com/NVIDIA/product-security/tree/main/2026/5861 and install the newest driver release that the advisory marks as patched for CVE-2026-47494, then re-verify the loaded driver version on each host. Until an updated driver is deployed, compensating controls should target the local-access prerequisite that gates this flaw: restrict shell and job-submission access on GPU hosts to accounts that genuinely require it, and enforce per-user namespaces or container/VM GPU isolation (for example, MIG-backed or vGPU-backed tenancy) on shared ML/HPC nodes so a low-privileged tenant cannot pass crafted data into the host driver - the trade-off is reduced hardware sharing efficiency and additional scheduling complexity. Where multi-tenant GPU sharing is not essential, consider disabling it entirely or routing untrusted workloads to a dedicated isolated node pool; note that this reduces utilization and cost efficiency. Standard kernel hardening (SELinux/AppArmor confinement of GPU device access, restriction of /dev/nvidia* to approved groups, disabling unprivileged module loading, and auditing for unexpected driver fault messages) raises the bar but does not eliminate the format string defect itself, and access-control tightening will break legitimate users who are not added to the approved groups. Monitor NVIDIA's repository for a patched driver release and treat unpatched multi-tenant GPU hosts as high-priority risk until it is applied.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 3 packages in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause class is CWE-134, use of an externally controlled format string. In the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux, attacker-supplied data is passed into a formatting operation that interprets it as a format specifier sequence rather than as inert data, which allows memory reads via specifiers such as %s and, more seriously, targeted memory writes via %n. Because display and compute drivers operate at high privilege - kernel-mode or in a similarly trusted IOCTL-serving boundary - successful corruption of driver state undermines the isolation boundary between an ordinary user process and the operating system, which is why the CVSS vector assigns high C/I/A impact with scope unchanged (S:U). The affected technology stack is the NVIDIA Linux graphics/compute driver, covering the consumer GeForce line and the professional RTX/Quadro/NVS and data-center Tesla product families as reflected in the CPE entries; those CPE strings are version-wildcarded, so the data does not pin vulnerable to fixed driver branches. The vulnerability was coordinated by NVIDIA and recorded in the CVE.org/NVD ecosystem with NVIDIA's product-security repository as the vendor source of truth.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local low-privileged user (AV:L/PR:L) triggers a format string with no interaction (AC:L/UI:N), yielding driver-context code execution with full C/I/A; scope unchanged per vendor.
Primary rating from Vendor (nvidia).
CVSS VectorVendor: nvidia
DescriptionCVE.org
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux contains a vulnerability where a user might be able to cause a format string issue. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to code execution, escalation of privileges, data tampering, denial of service, and information disclosure.
Articles & Coverage 3
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity local privilege escalation vulnerability in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux (CVE-2026-47494) could allow an authenticated low-privileged user to execute code, escalate privileges, and compromise data on shared GPU systems. This poses a significant risk to multi-tenant environments such as HPC clusters, AI/ML training nodes, and cloud GPU instances, where isolation between users is critical. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis, so organizations must rely on interim mitigations to protect sensitive workloads and maintain trust in shared infrastructure.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Recommended interim mitigations include restricting local access to trusted users only, enforcing least privilege, monitoring for suspicious driver activity, and isolating multi-tenant GPU workloads through virtualization or containerization where feasible.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Local privilege escalation and code execution in the NVIDIA Display Driver for Linux (GeForce, RTX/Quadro/NVS, Tesla, an
An out-of-bounds read in the kernel-mode layer of NVIDIA GPU Display Driver on Windows and Linux allows a local, authent
An out-of-bounds write in NVIDIA NVAPI for Windows allows a locally authenticated attacker holding standard user privile
Type confusion in the kernel-mode layer of the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux allows a local low-privileged user (C
Local privilege escalation in NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows (CUDA driver component) allows an authenticated atta
Local privilege escalation in NVIDIA Display Driver for Windows allows an authenticated low-privileged user to trigger a
Local privilege escalation and potential code execution in NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows and Linux arise from a
Local privilege escalation in NVIDIA Display Driver for Windows and Linux allows an unprivileged local attacker to trigg
Local privilege escalation and memory corruption in NVIDIA GPU Display Driver on Windows and Linux, affecting GeForce, R
Local privilege escalation in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux allows an authenticated, unprivileged user to trig
Local privilege escalation in the kernel-mode layer of the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux allows an unprivileged lo
Privilege escalation in NVIDIA's GPU Display Driver for Windows lets a local, low-privileged authenticated user bypass a
Same weakness CWE-134 – Use of Externally-Controlled Format String
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for NVIDIA 16.1 | Affected |
EUVD-2026-90088
GHSA-cvcx-gp96-83v4
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB