CVE-2020-5971
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 the software reads from a buffer by using buffer access mechanisms such as indexes or pointers that reference memory locations after the targeted buffer, which may lead to code execution, denial of service, escalation of privileges, 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 · high confidenceNVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager vGPU plugin contains a buffer over-read vulnerability where the software reads from memory locations beyond the targeted buffer using indexes or pointers. This out-of-bounds read may lead to code execution, denial of service, privilege escalation, or information disclosure. Affected versions are vGPU 8.x prior to 8.4, 9.x prior to 9.4, and 10.x prior to 10.3.
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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.
-
Confirm NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager is installedCheck for the presence of NVIDIA vGPU software components on the hypervisor host using system package managers or installed software listings (e.g., rpm -qa, dpkg -l, or PowerShell Get-Package for Windows-based hypervisors)Affected if The software is not present or this check cannot be completed, the system may not be vulnerable to this specific flaw
-
Identify the installed Virtual GPU Manager versionRetrieve the version of the installed vGPU Manager using nvidia-smi (run 'nvidia-smi' or 'nvidia-smi -q' from the hypervisor), or query the installed package directly via the system's package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q nvidia-vgpu-manager' or equivalent package name)Affected if The version cannot be determined from available tools or the software is not found, making it unclear whether the environment is affected
-
Compare the installed version against affected rangesCheck if the identified version falls within any of these vulnerable ranges: 8.0 through 8.3, 9.0 through 9.3, or 10.0 through 10.2. Versions prior to 8.0 are not affected by this specific CVE.Affected if The installed version is 8.0-8.3, 9.0-9.3, or 10.0-10.2 (the exact ranges provided in the CVE), indicating the environment is within the affected version window
-
Verify the vGPU plugin or specific vGPU features are enabledConfirm that vGPU virtual graphics devices are configured and assigned to virtual machines. This vulnerability exists in the vGPU plugin component, so active vGPU usage is required for exploitation.Affected if vGPU plugin functionality is not in use or no vGPU virtual devices are configured, the practical attack surface may be reduced even on affected versions
The environment is affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager is installed and the running version falls within 8.0-8.3, 9.0-9.3, or 10.0-10.2, with vGPU functionality actively enabled.
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 vendor patches by upgrading Virtual GPU Manager to version 8.4, 9.4, or 10.3 respectively, as indicated in NVIDIA's security bulletin.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,080.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5971 — 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-2020-5971 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data