[ GLSA 201206-19 ] NVIDIA Drivers: Privilege escalation

[GLSA]

Gentoo Linux Security Advisory

Title: NVIDIA Drivers: Privilege escalation (GLSA 201206-19)
Severity: high
Exploitable: local
Date: June 23, 2012
Bug(s): #411617
ID: 201206-19

Synopsis

A vulnerability in NVIDIA drivers may allow a local attacker to
gain escalated privileges.


Background

The NVIDIA drivers provide X11 and GLX support for NVIDIA graphic
boards.


Affected Packages

Package: x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers
Vulnerable: < 295.40
Unaffected: >= 295.40
Architectures: All supported architectures


Description

A vulnerability has been found in the way NVIDIA drivers handle
read/write access to GPU device nodes, allowing access to arbitrary
system memory locations.
NOTE: Exposure to this vulnerability is reduced in Gentoo due to 660
permissions being used on the GPU device nodes by default.


Impact

A local attacker could gain escalated privileges.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All NVIDIA driver users should upgrade to the latest version: