CVE-2022-21815

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Windows contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for private IOCTLs where a NULL pointer dereference in the kernel, created within user mode code, may lead to a denial of service in the form of a system crash.

Published: 2022-02-07 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-21815 is rated Low Risk (26/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.21%). 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-2022-21815

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% 0.21% +0.17%
2 2025-05-28 0.12% 0.04% -0.08%
3 2025-03-19 0.12%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-21815

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
4.9 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 6.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-21815

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-21815

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nvidia cloud_gaming_guest cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:cloud_gaming_guest:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia geforce cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:geforce:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia gpu_display_driver cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:gpu_display_driver:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia nvs cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:nvs:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia quadro cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:quadro:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia rtx cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:rtx:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia studio cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:studio:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia tesla cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:tesla:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
nvidia virtual_gpu cpe:2.3:a:nvidia:virtual_gpu:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-21815

cvelogic Threat Intelligence