Introduction
Privilege escalation on Linux and Solaris systems running NVIDIA GPUs is a real risk for organizations relying on the .run installer for driver management. Attackers with local access can exploit a race condition in the installer to gain root privileges, potentially leading to code execution, data tampering, or denial of service. This vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-23279, was disclosed in NVIDIA's July 2025 security bulletin and affects a wide range of driver versions distributed via the .run installer.
NVIDIA is the dominant vendor in discrete graphics hardware, powering everything from consumer desktops to high-performance computing clusters. Their proprietary drivers are critical for GPU acceleration in Linux and Solaris environments, making vulnerabilities in their installation mechanisms highly impactful across industries.
Technical Information
CVE-2025-23279 is a race condition vulnerability in the NVIDIA .run Installer for Linux and Solaris. The installer is a self-extracting binary that performs privileged operations: extracting driver files, compiling kernel modules, and moving files into system directories. During these operations, temporary files and directories are created and manipulated with elevated privileges.
The vulnerability arises when the installer fails to properly synchronize access to these temporary files. If an attacker with local access can predict or monitor the creation of these files, they can replace or manipulate them before the installer processes them with root privileges. This classic time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) flaw allows the attacker to inject malicious content or symlinks, resulting in arbitrary code execution as root. The attack requires precise timing but can be automated for higher reliability.
The flaw is classified under CWE-367 (Race Condition) and specifically affects the .run installer mechanism, not distribution-packaged drivers. Exploitation is only possible during driver installation or upgrade, and requires the attacker to have local access to the system.
Patch Information
NVIDIA has addressed CVE-2025-23279 in their July 2025 security update. The fix introduces proper synchronization mechanisms in the .run installer to prevent privilege escalation via race condition. Users should update their NVIDIA GPU Display Drivers to the latest version available from the NVIDIA Driver Downloads page. The update is included in the following advisory:
Affected Systems and Versions
- NVIDIA .run Installer for Linux and Solaris
- Affects driver versions distributed via the .run installer prior to the July 2025 security update
- Confirmed affected packages include nvidia-graphics-drivers-tesla and nvidia-open-gpu-kernel-modules on Debian
- Vulnerable configurations: Any system where the .run installer is used for driver installation or upgrade
Vendor Security History
NVIDIA has previously addressed privilege escalation and race condition vulnerabilities in their driver stack. The company typically issues coordinated security bulletins and provides timely patches. Their security advisories are detailed and include specific version guidance. Past issues have included improper privilege checks and memory management flaws in both Linux and Windows drivers.