CVE-2025-23340 is a vulnerability identified in the NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit, specifically affecting the nvdisasm binary component. The vulnerability is classified as a CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read. It occurs when the nvdisasm tool processes a malformed ELF (Executable and Linkable Format) file, leading to an out-of-bounds memory read. This type of vulnerability can cause the application to read memory outside the bounds of allocated buffers, potentially resulting in a partial denial of service (DoS) due to application crashes or instability. The vulnerability affects all versions of the CUDA Toolkit prior to version 13.0 across all supported platforms. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 3.3, indicating a low severity level. The vector string (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L) shows that the attack requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges (PR:N), but user interaction (UI:R) is required. The scope remains unchanged (S:U), and the impact is limited to availability (A:L) with no confidentiality or integrity impact. No known exploits are currently in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability primarily poses a risk of partial denial of service by causing nvdisasm to crash or behave unexpectedly when processing crafted ELF files. Given that nvdisasm is a disassembler tool used for analyzing CUDA binaries, the attack surface is limited to users who run this tool locally and open potentially malicious ELF files, which reduces the overall risk profile.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-23340 is relatively limited due to the low severity and the requirement for local access and user interaction. Organizations using NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit for GPU-accelerated computing, particularly in research, scientific computing, or AI development, may be affected if they use the nvdisasm tool to analyze or debug CUDA binaries. A successful exploit could cause the tool to crash, resulting in a partial denial of service that disrupts workflows or debugging sessions. However, it does not lead to data breaches or code execution, so the risk to confidentiality and integrity is minimal. The impact is more operational, potentially causing delays or interruptions in development or analysis processes. Organizations with strict availability requirements or those relying heavily on CUDA tooling for critical operations might experience minor disruptions. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction and local access, remote exploitation is not feasible, reducing the threat to networked environments. Overall, the threat is manageable but should be addressed to maintain operational stability and prevent potential exploitation by insiders or malicious users with local access.

To mitigate CVE-2025-23340, European organizations should prioritize upgrading to NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit version 13.0 or later, where the vulnerability is resolved. Until the patch is available or applied, organizations should implement strict access controls to limit who can execute the nvdisasm tool and handle ELF files, ensuring only trusted users have local access to systems with CUDA Toolkit installed. Employ file integrity monitoring and scanning to detect and block malformed or suspicious ELF files before they reach users. Educate users about the risks of opening untrusted or malformed files, emphasizing caution when handling ELF binaries from unknown sources. Additionally, consider sandboxing or running nvdisasm in isolated environments to contain potential crashes and prevent broader system impact. Regularly monitor system logs for crashes or unusual behavior related to nvdisasm to detect attempted exploitation. Finally, maintain an inventory of systems running CUDA Toolkit and ensure timely updates as patches become available from NVIDIA.