Update Nvidia Drivers Now to Fix Critical Vulnerabilities
Windows: Most gamers love to update their graphics card drivers to get the best performance from their favorite games. But even if you are a “dirty random”, you need to make sure that the Nvidia drivers on your system are up to date. Nvidia recently discovered several critical vulnerabilities in its display driver that need to be fixed immediately.
As Nvidia noted in Friday’s security bulletin , Windows users using GeForce, Quadro, NVS or Tesla GPUs are impacted by five different issues. (For most people, this is just a GeForce – everything else is for professional workstations or commercial implementations.)
We have listed specific vulnerabilities below. Even if you don’t understand all the technical terms, it’s worth knowing that Nvidia rates them between 5.2 and 8.8 on a scale of “how serious is this vulnerability” – a scale that goes up to 10. All vulnerabilities can allow an attacker to either execute code or perform a denial of service attack and it’s incredibly easy to fix with one simple update.
- CVE-2019-5683: “NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the trace recorder component of a user-mode video driver. When an attacker gains access to the system and creates a hard link, the software does not check for hard link attacks. This behavior can lead to code execution, denial of service, or privilege escalation. “
- CVE – 2019-5684: “The NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in DirectX drivers where a specially crafted shader could cause access outside the input texture array, which could lead to denial of service or code execution.”
- CVE – 2019-5685: “NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in DirectX drivers in which a specially crafted shader can cause denial of service or code execution to be denied access to the local temporary shader array. “
- CVE – 2019-5686: “The NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode handler (nvlddmkm.sys) for DxgkDdiEscape in which software uses an API function or data structure in a way that relies on properties that are not always guaranteed to be valid, which could lead to denial of service. “
- CVE-2019-5687: “The NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel-mode handler (nvlddmkm.sys) for DxgkDdiEscape where misuse of default permissions on an object makes it accessible to an unintended subject, which could lead to disclosure information or denial of service. “
How to update GeForce drivers on your system
As mentioned, most people will only need to worry about updating GeForce drivers for Nvidia consumer graphics cards. As long as you are using the latest drivers – 431.60 – you’re done.
To check, you can install the Nvidia GeForce Experience application, in which the version of your driver should be indicated directly on the corresponding tab:
You can also open Windows Device Manager – click the Start menu button and start typing it, then click Display Adapters, right-click your graphics card, select Properties and go to the Driver tab. The last five digits of the driver version must match Nvidia’s driver numbering scheme, and you must ensure that your drivers end in “4.3160”.
If you’re not using version 431.60, you have several options for updating your drivers. The first and easiest is to simply download and install updates using GeForce Experience. It’s as easy as pressing a button, and having this app installed on your system ensures you always get an update request whenever a new driver is available. (You can even download these updates automatically if you check the corresponding option in the app settings.)
Laptop users: Before going the GeForce Experience route, you should first check if your laptop manufacturer has any customized versions of Nvidia updates that you should install instead. This is always an unpleasant compromise; Nvidia will release updated drivers faster, but there is no guarantee that they will work flawlessly no matter how your laptop manufacturer has configured your system. You can try installing the more generic Nvidia drivers, especially if your laptop manufacturer hasn’t updated their versions in the last year or so, but I recommend backing up your system in case those drivers fail and you have to roll back .
As you move forward, make sure you are always up to date. The updated drivers not only fix annoying little vulnerabilities like the ones we just talked about, but they are also a great way to make sure you get the best gaming experience for everything new that comes out. It is a safe bet and requires little or no extra effort on your part.