# CVE-2021-1079: Privilege escalation in NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software

> Local attackers can exploit GameStream plugin log file permissions to achieve code execution, privilege escalation, or denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f448-p2vf-4r6q

## What is CVE-2021-1079?

CVE-2021-1079 is a medium-severity vulnerability in NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software, published on 20 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NVIDIA GeForce Experience, all versions prior to 3.22, contains a vulnerability in GameStream plugins where log files are created using NT/System level permissions, which may lead to code execution, denial of service, or local privilege escalation. The attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification nor would they be able to leak information as a direct result of the overwrite.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1079?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nvidia Geforce Experience.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-1079?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1079 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-1079 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software

- [CVE-2017-6250](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6250/): Code injection in GeForce Experience (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-8812](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8812/): Memory corruption in Quadro, NVS, and GeForce (all versions) (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-1073](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1073/): Information disclosure in NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2022-42291](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42291/): Path traversal in GeForce Experience (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2021-23175](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-23175/): Missing authorization in NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software (high 8.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-1079 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-1079 is a medium-severity vulnerability in NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software, published on 20 Apr 2021. 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-2021-1079 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: NVIDIA GeForce Experience Software. 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-2021-1079/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1079/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-1079
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1079
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-1079

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1079/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.