CVE-2020-5969
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 contains a vulnerability in the vGPU plugin, in which it validates a shared resource before using it, creating a race condition which may lead to denial of service or information disclosure. This affects vGPU version 8.x (prior to 8.4), version 9.x (prior to 9.4) and version 10.x (prior to 10.3).
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 a TOCTOU (time-of-check to time-of-use) race condition vulnerability in the vGPU plugin. The plugin validates a shared resource before using it, but due to the race condition, an attacker can potentially modify the resource between the check and use, leading to denial of service or information disclosure.
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 data>= 8.0, <= 8.3>= 9.0, <= 9.3>= 10.0, <= 10.2CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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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Identify the installed Virtual GPU Manager versionUse system commands or hypervisor tools to query the installed NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager package version (for example, check the package manager, hypervisor GUI, or vGPU software listing)Affected if The version falls within 8.0-8.3, 9.0-9.3, or 10.0-10.2
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Confirm vGPU plugin is in useVerify that the vGPU plugin functionality is enabled or configured on the hypervisor (for example, check hypervisor settings, vGPU profile assignments, or VM configurations that utilize virtual GPU passthrough)Affected if vGPU plugin is actively enabled or VMs are configured with vGPU profiles
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Check for shared resource validation behaviorIf you have access to vGPU plugin logs or runtime behavior, look for operations where shared resources are validated before use, which is the code path vulnerable to the race conditionAffected if The vGPU plugin performs validation-on-use operations on shared resources in the affected version range
You are affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager is installed at a version between 8.0-8.3, 9.0-9.3, or 10.0-10.2 AND the vGPU plugin feature is enabled or in use on your hypervisor.
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 dataUpgrade NVIDIA vGPU Manager to version 8.4, 9.4, or 10.3 (or later) depending on the version branch in use. Prior to upgrading, assess VM compatibility and plan maintenance windows to minimize disruption.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5969 — 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-2020-5969 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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