CVE-2021-1051

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgkDdiEscape in which a local user can get elevated privileges to modify display configuration data, which may result in denial of service of the display.

Published: 2021-01-07 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-1051 is rated Low Risk (39.7/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.26%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-1051

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.04% 0.26% +0.21%
2 2023-03-07 0.89% 0.04% -0.84%
3 2022-04-01 0.89%

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-1051

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.4 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.0 5.8 [email protected]
8.4 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.0 5.8 [email protected]
6.6 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 9.2 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-1051

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-1051

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nvidia gpu_driver >= 390, < 392.63 cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:gpu_driver:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia gpu_driver >= 418, < 427.11 cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:gpu_driver:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia gpu_driver >= 450, < 452.77 cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:gpu_driver:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia gpu_driver >= 460, < 461.09 cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:gpu_driver:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-1051

cvelogic Threat Intelligence