“Per Microsoft requirements, the NVIDIA Control Panel is no longer included in the base DCH driver package and is instead distributed exclusively through the Microsoft Store.” It is NOT part of the DCH driver installation package.
DCH drivers use a UWP Control panel (not W32) which is only available from the MS store. NVidia DCH drivers ARE most certainly tied to the Microsoft Store. So not the GPU drivers but the control panel, which isn’t a basic requirement.Ģ + 3) “(optional)” = not required, unlike drivers, so bloatware. This is bloatware for most techies.ģ) Every consumer video card manufacturer includes some form of (optional) “control panel” so that the GPU can be configured to their individual requirements.ġ) “NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the NVIDIA Control Panel component in which an attacker with local system access can corrupt a system file, which may lead to denial of service or escalation of privileges.”
You are confusing it with the optional “Experience” software which targets gamers. It consumes 28 MB of disk space on my computer. They cannot afford to do otherwise since their GPUs are used by government/university supercomputers worldwide.Ģ) The Control Panel is NOT bloatware. NVidia is always upfront when disclosing vulnerabilities. See: nVidia Security Bulletin – February 2020 “GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the NVIDIA Control Panel”
NVIDIA DCH/Standard Display Drivers for Windows 10 FAQġ) The nVidia security bulletin clearly states: This FAQ sheet will be of interest to those who haven’t seen it before: You might want to check nVidia security bulletins on occasion: (Dumb people like me who often don’t switch to a STD user account.) But keep in mind that a hacker who manages to drop a baddie on your computer can use some driver flaws to escalate privileges to that of the logged-in user. Granted, if a security flaw requires local access, you have other problems to worry about. Old school folk (me) view everything in terms of attack vectors. In my opinion, driver security fixes are especially important if running older computers that may have unsupported hardware.
I always update if any of the following is true, however:ģ) features that may improve simulation performance For example, I run very demanding CPU/GPU simulation software that generally won’t see much benefit if an update only adds profiles for newly released games. The decision to update depends on the use case. They are quite readable – nVidia does a good job revealing what’s new, broken, fixed, and added with each release. It’s a good idea to view the release notes prior to deciding whether or not to update. New drivers do add support for new games, however. I’m not a gamer, but I understand the frustration gamers experience when drivers fix one thing, but break another. : Random crashes occur during gameplay on Pascal and older GPUs. : Game may flicker when in-game HDR is enabled. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed crashes when playing in a water level. : The app shows corruption when Image Sharpening is enabled globally from the NVIDIA Control Panel : Launching Battleye with NVIDIA Low Latency Mode set to Ultra may cause DWM to reset. :Corrupted flickering occurs when in-game HDR is enabled. : The game may randomly crash to the desktop without error
: The game may crash with error DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG 0x887A0006. The latest from Nvidia 442.50 WHQL Gamer driver: New GPU drivers from Nvidia, AMD usually add support for new games and fix bugs too. There’s questionable benefit in fixing a theoretical security flaw if by doing so you reduce the machine’s actual performance in one way or another. Looks like a busy weekend ahead MS patching AND updating nvidia video drivers. NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the NVIDIA Control Panel component in which an attacker with local system access can corrupt a system file, which may lead to denial of service or escalation of privileges.ĭownload links within the bleeping computer article. Various CVE’s within the article and especially CVE2020-5957 which has a base score of 8.4 NVIDIA has released a GPU display driver security update today, February 28, 2020, that fixes high and medium severity vulnerabilities that might lead to code execution, local escalation of privileges, information disclosure, and denial of service on unpatched Windows computers.Įxtract from bleeping computer article by Sergiu Gatlan. Heads-up for those out there with nvidia graphics cards: IMPORTANT