diff --git a/src/lightning/fabric/CHANGELOG.md b/src/lightning/fabric/CHANGELOG.md
index 675d2ca0dc..0cff349fdc 100644
--- a/src/lightning/fabric/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/lightning/fabric/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Fixed issue where the `precision="transformer-engine"` argument would not replace layers by default ([#19082](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/pull/19082))
 
 
+- Fixed an issue preventing Fabric to run on CPU when the system's CUDA driver is outdated or broken ([#19234](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/pull/19234))
+
+
 ## [2.1.3] - 2023-12-21
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/lightning/fabric/utilities/seed.py b/src/lightning/fabric/utilities/seed.py
index 2c3169fc8f..b274bce88f 100644
--- a/src/lightning/fabric/utilities/seed.py
+++ b/src/lightning/fabric/utilities/seed.py
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def _collect_rng_states(include_cuda: bool = True) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         "python": python_get_rng_state(),
     }
     if include_cuda:
-        states["torch.cuda"] = torch.cuda.get_rng_state_all()
+        states["torch.cuda"] = torch.cuda.get_rng_state_all() if torch.cuda.is_available() else []
     return states
 
 
diff --git a/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md b/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md
index f74e11f30d..274e647bd4 100644
--- a/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/lightning/pytorch/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -68,6 +68,9 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - Fixed `Trainer` not expanding the `default_root_dir` if it has the `~` (home) prefix ([#19179](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/pull/19179))
 
 
+- Fixed an issue preventing the Trainer to run on CPU when the system's CUDA driver is outdated or broken ([#19234](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/pull/19234))
+
+
 - Fixed warning for Dataloader if `num_workers=1` and CPU count is 1 ([#19224](https://github.com/Lightning-AI/lightning/pull/19224))
 
 
diff --git a/tests/tests_fabric/utilities/test_seed.py b/tests/tests_fabric/utilities/test_seed.py
index f371afe96c..351f6a47b7 100644
--- a/tests/tests_fabric/utilities/test_seed.py
+++ b/tests/tests_fabric/utilities/test_seed.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import os
 from unittest import mock
+from unittest.mock import Mock
 
 import lightning.fabric.utilities
 import pytest
@@ -85,3 +86,12 @@ def test_backward_compatibility_rng_states_dict():
     assert "torch.cuda" in states
     states.pop("torch.cuda")
     _set_rng_states(states)
+
+
+@mock.patch("lightning.fabric.utilities.seed.torch.cuda.is_available", Mock(return_value=False))
+@mock.patch("lightning.fabric.utilities.seed.torch.cuda.get_rng_state_all")
+def test_collect_rng_states_if_cuda_init_fails(get_rng_state_all_mock):
+    """Test that the `torch.cuda` rng states are only requested if CUDA is available."""
+    get_rng_state_all_mock.side_effect = RuntimeError("The NVIDIA driver on your system is too old")
+    states = _collect_rng_states()
+    assert states["torch.cuda"] == []
diff --git a/tests/tests_pytorch/utilities/test_seed.py b/tests/tests_pytorch/utilities/test_seed.py
index dc104afa5a..282009f6b9 100644
--- a/tests/tests_pytorch/utilities/test_seed.py
+++ b/tests/tests_pytorch/utilities/test_seed.py
@@ -47,5 +47,5 @@ def test_isolate_rng_cuda(get_cuda_rng, set_cuda_rng):
     set_cuda_rng.assert_not_called()
 
     with isolate_rng(include_cuda=True):
-        get_cuda_rng.assert_called_once()
+        assert get_cuda_rng.call_count == int(torch.cuda.is_available())
     set_cuda_rng.assert_called_once()