CVE-2025-33237 is a vulnerability identified in the NVIDIA GeForce HD Audio Driver for Windows, specifically a NULL pointer dereference categorized under CWE-476. This type of vulnerability occurs when the software attempts to access or dereference a pointer that has not been initialized or has been set to NULL, leading to unpredictable behavior such as application or driver crashes. In this case, the flaw resides within the audio driver component of NVIDIA's GeForce product line, affecting all versions prior to 1.4.5.7. Exploitation requires local access with low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and has low attack complexity (AC:L). The impact is limited to availability (A:H), meaning an attacker can cause a denial of service by crashing the audio driver, potentially disrupting audio functionality and system stability. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality or integrity of data. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the presence of this flaw poses a risk to systems running vulnerable driver versions. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on January 28, 2026, and no official patch links were provided in the source data, but updating to driver version 1.4.5.7 or later is implied as the remediation. The attack vector is local, so threat actors would need some form of access to the target machine, which limits remote exploitation possibilities. However, in environments where multiple users share systems or where local access controls are weak, the risk is more pronounced.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-33237 is the potential for denial of service affecting system availability. This could disrupt business operations, particularly in sectors relying on multimedia processing, video conferencing, or graphical applications where NVIDIA GeForce hardware is prevalent. Audio driver crashes may lead to degraded user experience, interruptions in communication, and potential downtime. While the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, repeated or targeted exploitation could cause operational disruptions. Organizations with large deployments of NVIDIA hardware in office environments, creative industries, or research institutions may face increased risk. Additionally, public sector entities and critical infrastructure operators using affected systems could experience service interruptions. The local attack vector reduces the likelihood of widespread remote exploitation but does not eliminate insider threat or malware scenarios that gain local access. Given the medium CVSS score (5.5), the threat is moderate but warrants timely remediation to maintain system stability and prevent denial of service incidents.

1. Update NVIDIA GeForce HD Audio Drivers to version 1.4.5.7 or later as soon as the patch is available from official NVIDIA sources. 2. Implement strict local access controls to limit user privileges and prevent unauthorized local access to systems running vulnerable drivers. 3. Monitor system logs and driver stability metrics to detect abnormal crashes or audio service interruptions that may indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Employ endpoint protection solutions capable of detecting anomalous behavior related to driver crashes or privilege escalation attempts. 5. In multi-user environments, enforce user session isolation and restrict installation of unauthorized software to reduce risk of local exploitation. 6. Educate users about the risks of executing untrusted code locally, which could leverage this vulnerability. 7. Maintain an updated asset inventory to identify all systems with NVIDIA GeForce hardware and prioritize patching accordingly. 8. Coordinate with IT and security teams to integrate driver updates into regular maintenance cycles and vulnerability management programs.