NVIDIA has released a security update for its RTX and GTX GPU drivers on both Windows and Linux platforms, addressing a significant number of vulnerabilities, including several marked as high severity. These issues could lead to various exploits such as denial of service, privilege escalation, information disclosure, data manipulation, and code execution.
This marks the second security audit by NVIDIA this year, which has resulted in the identification and subsequent correction of multiple security flaws. The updates are crucial for users, particularly gamers, as they cover multiple generations of RTX and GTX graphics cards. NVIDIA advises all users to update their drivers to ensure they are protected against these newly discovered security gaps.
NVIDIA Issues Security Drivers for All Active RTX and Most GTX Graphics Cards
The affected driver versions are categorized by graphics series for clarity. On Windows, RTX 50, RTX 40, RTX 30, RTX 20, and GTX 16 series GPUs are covered by driver version 596.36. For GTX 10, GTX 900, and certain Maxwell-based GTX 700 models, driver version 582.53 provides the necessary protection.
NVIDIA has not provided an exhaustive list of individual models, but rather focuses on the affected driver branches and architectures. The core concern for users and gamers is to understand which driver to update to in order to close the detected security vulnerabilities in their NVIDIA RTX and GTX graphics cards.
The most critical vulnerability highlighted in the security bulletin is CVE-2026-24187, carrying a CVSS score of 8.8. This vulnerability affects the Linux driver and can lead to a “use-after-free” memory error. Such flaws can result in a wide range of impacts, including denial of service, privilege escalation, information disclosure, data manipulation, and code execution, making it the most serious issue addressed due to its high severity and broad implications.
Linux Experiences More Vulnerabilities Than Windows, Surprisingly
Several other vulnerabilities with a CVSS score of 7.8 are also addressed. CVE-2026-24190 affects both Windows and Linux within the kernel mode layer, potentially allowing unauthorized access to GPU resources. CVE-2026-24191, specific to Windows, stems from a time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) issue. In Linux, CVE-2026-24192 is caused by incorrect numeric type conversion, which can lead to a heap buffer overflow, while CVE-2026-24193 affects both Windows and Linux through an out-of-bounds write vulnerability.
Curiously, the Linux driver branch appears to have a higher concentration of technical flaws compared to Windows, which is an unusual pattern. However, NVIDIA is also rectifying issues within UVM (Unified Virtual Memory), out-of-bounds reads, race conditions, MIG (Multi-Instance GPU) partition management, and incorrect permission assignments in the kernel driver. While some of these issues may only result in denial of service, others could lead to information exposure or data manipulation depending on the specific scenario and graphics family involved.
In practical terms, the recommendation for users is straightforward: owners of RTX 50, RTX 40, RTX 30, RTX 20, or GTX 16 series GPUs on Windows should update to at least driver version 596.36, or a later stable release. Those with GTX 10, GTX 900, or Maxwell-based GTX 700 series cards should update to driver version 582.53 to maintain security. On Linux, NVIDIA recommends users install the corrected driver versions specified in the bulletin and also suggests updating to the latest driver branch if currently using an older, unpatched version.
