CVE-2020-5959
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedNVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager, all versions, contains a vulnerability in the vGPU plugin in which an input index value is incorrectly validated which may lead to denial of service.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceNVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager contains an input validation vulnerability in the vGPU plugin where an index value is not properly validated before use. This incorrect validation allows a denial of service condition, likely through an out-of-bounds access or similar error when an attacker provides an invalid index value.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager is installedCheck system inventory or installed packages for NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager software. On Linux, this may appear as packages with 'nvidia-vgpu' or 'vgpu' in the name. On Windows, check Programs and Features for NVIDIA vGPU software.Affected if The software is present on the system
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Verify vGPU plugin is configuredCheck hypervisor configuration for active vGPU profiles or virtual GPU device assignments. This is typically configured in the hypervisor's VM settings or vGPU management interface.Affected if vGPU plugin profiles are assigned to virtual machines or the vGPU manager is actively managing GPU virtualization
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Identify installed Virtual GPU Manager versionQuery the installed NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager version through the hypervisor management tools, NVIDIA licensing portal, or system package information. Compare the version number to any vendor-released patches for CVE-2020-5959.Affected if The installed version has not been patched to address CVE-2020-5959 and the vGPU plugin is in use
If NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager is installed with vGPU plugin enabled and the installed version predates the CVE-2020-5959 patch, the environment is affected.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch or updated version of NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager when released. Until then, restrict access to vGPU management interfaces and monitor for anomalous vGPU plugin operations.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5959 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-5959 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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