CVE-2025-33231
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2025-33231 is a DLL hijacking vulnerability in NVIDIA Nsight Systems for Windows that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing malicious DLLs in directories searched by the application. This affects users running vulnerable versions of NVIDIA Nsight Systems on Windows systems. Successful exploitation could lead to privilege escalation, data compromise, or denial of service.
💻 Affected Systems
- NVIDIA Nsight Systems
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with administrative privileges, data exfiltration, and persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to unauthorized access to sensitive profiling data and system resources.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper file permissions and user access controls preventing DLL placement.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local access to place malicious DLLs in search path directories. DLL hijacking is a well-known attack vector.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2025.2.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5755
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download NVIDIA Nsight Systems 2025.2.1 or later from NVIDIA's website. 2. Run the installer. 3. Follow installation prompts. 4. Restart the system after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict DLL Search Path
windowsUse Windows policies to restrict DLL search paths and prevent loading from untrusted directories.
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" -Name "SafeDllSearchMode" -Value 1
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager" -Name "CWDIllegalInDllSearch" -Value 1
File System Permissions
windowsRestrict write permissions to directories in the DLL search path for standard users.
icacls "C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Nsight Systems" /deny Users:(OI)(CI)W
icacls "%APPDATA%\..\Local" /deny Users:(OI)(CI)W
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove or restrict access to NVIDIA Nsight Systems from non-administrative users.
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized DLLs.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check NVIDIA Nsight Systems version in Help > About menu or examine installed programs in Control Panel.Check Version:
wmic product where name="NVIDIA Nsight Systems" get versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify installed version is 2025.2.1 or later and test DLL loading behavior with controlled test files.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Windows Event Logs showing DLL loading from unusual paths (Event ID 7 in Sysmon)
- Failed DLL loading attempts from non-standard directories
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Nsight Systems process post-exploitation
SIEM Query:
source="windows" event_id=7 process_name="nsight-systems.exe" | search image_loaded="*\\temp\\*" OR image_loaded="*\\users\\*"