CVE-2012-0953

Kernel heap disclosure via ioctl handler race

Published May 8, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

A race condition in NVIDIA GPU Display Driver before 295.53 allows local users to disclose kernel heap memory through the Linux ioctl interface. The public record locates the race in an ioctl handler but does not identify the raced object or the missing synchronization operation. Exploitation requires high local privileges and a hard-to-win race, and the bounded consequence is kernel-memory disclosure to userspace.

CVSS severity5.0
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A race condition in NVIDIA GPU Display Driver before 295.53 allows local users to disclose kernel heap memory through the Linux ioctl interface. The public record locates the race in an ioctl handler but does not identify the raced object or the missing synchronization operation. Exploitation requires high local privileges and a hard-to-win race, and the bounded consequence is kernel-memory disclosure to userspace.

The record

CVE
CVE-2012-0953
Published
May 8, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
NVIDIA
Product
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver
Classifications
CWE-362, T1005
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 8, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <295.53

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

NVIDIA · NVIDIA GPU Display Driverversion=unspecified <295.53

Published CVSS scores

4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
5.0Canonical Ltd.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1005Data from Local System

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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