CVE-2022-42259

What it actually does

Integer overflow in the nvidia.ko kernel module allows a local process to trigger memory corruption that results in a kernel-level denial of service.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using affected NVIDIA GPU drivers on Linux may experience sudden crashes or loss of graphics and compute availability, disrupting workloads that depend on those GPUs.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local low-privileged access crafts an input that triggers the integer overflow inside the driver, causing the kernel to panic or hang and rendering the system unusable.

How to fix it

Update the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver to the latest version that resolves the integer-overflow condition; apply the same update to any affected hypervisor or virtual-GPU packages listed in the advisory.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the installed driver version matches or exceeds the fixed release noted in the vendor security bulletin; re-test GPU-accelerated workloads to verify stability under expected load.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local shell access on a Linux host with a vulnerable NVIDIA driver
2. Execute or load code that interacts with the nvidia.ko module via ioctl or similar interfaces
3. Supply a specially chosen integer value that overflows during kernel processing
4. Trigger the resulting memory corruption to force a kernel panic or hang

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for sudden NVIDIA driver-related oops or panic entries around the time of reported outages; correlate with process execution that touches /dev/nvidia* devices.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize patching Linux hosts that expose NVIDIA GPUs to untrusted local users
• Monitor vendor driver release channels for the corrected build and schedule staged rollouts
• Review and tighten local privilege boundaries on GPU-enabled systems until updates are applied