CVE-2025-23332 is a vulnerability identified in the NVIDIA Display Driver for Linux, specifically within the Virtual GPU (vGPU) Manager kernel module. The issue is a NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476), which occurs when the software attempts to access or dereference a pointer that is null, leading to a kernel crash. This vulnerability affects all versions of the NVIDIA vGPU Manager up to and including version 19.1. An attacker with low privileges (PR:L) and requiring user interaction (UI:R) can trigger this flaw locally (AV:L), causing a denial of service (DoS) by crashing the kernel or the vGPU service, resulting in system instability or downtime. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity, as it does not allow data leakage or unauthorized modification. The scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the impact is limited to the vulnerable component without affecting other system components. No public exploits are known at this time, and no patches have been linked yet, indicating that mitigation relies on vendor updates and operational controls. The vulnerability was reserved in January 2025 and published in October 2025, reflecting a recent discovery. The affected product is primarily used in virtualized environments where NVIDIA GPUs are shared among multiple virtual machines, common in cloud and enterprise data centers running Linux. The vulnerability’s exploitation requires local access and user interaction, which reduces the risk of remote attacks but still poses a threat in multi-tenant or shared environments.

For European organizations, especially those operating data centers, cloud services, or virtualized environments using NVIDIA vGPU technology on Linux, this vulnerability can cause service interruptions due to denial of service conditions. This can lead to downtime of critical applications relying on GPU acceleration, impacting business continuity and operational efficiency. While confidentiality and integrity remain unaffected, availability degradation can disrupt workflows, particularly in sectors like finance, research, media production, and telecommunications that rely heavily on GPU virtualization. The requirement for local access and user interaction means insider threats or compromised user accounts pose a higher risk. Additionally, multi-tenant cloud providers in Europe could face customer impact if a malicious tenant triggers the vulnerability. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits over time.

European organizations should prioritize upgrading NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager to versions beyond vGPU 19.1 once patches are released by NVIDIA. Until patches are available, implement strict access controls to limit local user privileges on Linux hosts running the vulnerable software, minimizing the risk of unauthorized users triggering the vulnerability. Employ monitoring and alerting for unusual kernel crashes or service restarts related to the vGPU Manager. Use containerization or sandboxing to isolate GPU workloads where feasible, reducing the impact scope. Regularly audit user accounts and permissions to prevent privilege escalation or unauthorized local access. Coordinate with NVIDIA support for early access to patches or workarounds. Additionally, consider network segmentation to isolate critical GPU-accelerated systems from less trusted environments. Maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential DoS incidents.