# CVE-2019-5688: Privilege escalation in NVIDIA NVFlash, NVUFlash, GPUModeSwitch Tool

> Administrative users can access unauthorized device memory and registers via NVIDIA GPU tools, leading to privilege escalation, data leaks, or system crashes.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 18 Nov 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f2mm-3963-gx7q

## What is CVE-2019-5688?

CVE-2019-5688 is a medium-severity vulnerability in NVIDIA NVFlash, NVUFlash, GPUModeSwitch Tool, published on 18 Nov 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NVIDIA NVFlash, NVUFlash Tool prior to v5.588.0 and GPUModeSwitch Tool prior to 2019-11, NVIDIA kernel mode driver (nvflash.sys, nvflsh32.sys, and nvflsh64.sys) contains a vulnerability in which authenticated users with administrative privileges can gain access to device memory and registers of other devices not managed by NVIDIA, which may lead to escalation of privileges, information disclosure, or denial of service.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5688?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Nvidia Gpumodeswitch, Nvidia Nvflash, Nvidia Nvuflash.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5688?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-5688 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-5688 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5688 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- POC Code for the NVFLASH driver (github_poc): https://github.com/watsa01/CVE-2019-5688

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5688 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5688 is a medium-severity vulnerability in NVIDIA NVFlash, NVUFlash, GPUModeSwitch Tool, published on 18 Nov 2019. 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-2019-5688 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: NVIDIA NVFlash, NVUFlash, GPUModeSwitch Tool. 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-2019-5688/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5688/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5688
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5688
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5688

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5688/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.