# CVE-2012-0952: Heap overflow in control device ioctl

> A heap buffer overflow in the Nvidia Linux graphics driver allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges via a crafted ioctl call.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 May 2020
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-0952, GHSA-xg6p-7989-gjfr

## What is CVE-2012-0952?

CVE-2012-0952 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in nvidia graphics drivers, published on 8 May 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A heap buffer overflow was discovered in the device control ioctl in the Linux driver for Nvidia graphics cards, which may allow an attacker to overflow 49 bytes. This issue was fixed in version 295.53.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-0952?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nvidia Display Driver.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-0952?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-0952 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-0952 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in nvidia graphics drivers

- [CVE-2012-0951](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0951/): Memory corruption in graphics drivers (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2013-0109](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0109/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2015-5950](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5950/): Privilege escalation in n/a (medium 6.9)
- [CVE-2012-0953](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0953/): Kernel heap contents leak race in ioctl handler (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-0952 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-0952 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in nvidia graphics drivers, published on 8 May 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-0952 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: nvidia graphics drivers. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0952/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0952/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-0952
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-0952
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-0952

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0952/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.