CVE-2021-1080
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 vGPU software contains a vulnerability in the Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin), in which certain input data is not validated, which may lead to information disclosure, tampering of data, or denial of service. This affects vGPU version 12.x (prior to 12.2), version 11.x (prior to 11.4) and version 8.x (prior 8.7).
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 vGPU Manager contains an input validation vulnerability in its vGPU plugin that could allow a virtual machine to perform improper operations on the host, potentially leading to information disclosure, data tampering, or denial of service. The issue stems from lack of validation of certain input data within the virtual GPU plugin component.
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, < 8.7>= 11.0, < 11.4>= 12.0, < 12.2CVSS 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.
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Identify if NVIDIA vGPU Manager is installedOn ESXi, run 'esxcli software vib list | grep -i nvidia' or check /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/nvidia* files. On other hypervisors, check for nvidia-vgpu-manager package or service.Affected if No NVIDIA vGPU Manager package is found, so the vulnerability does not apply.
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Retrieve the installed vGPU Manager versionOn ESXi, run 'esxcli software vib list | grep -i nvidia' to see the installed version column. Alternatively, check the VIB details via 'esxcli software vib get -n nvidia' or review the installer log.Affected if Unable to determine version - manual review of installed packages may be required.
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Confirm vGPU plugin is configuredCheck if any virtual machines have vGPU devices assigned. On ESXi, run 'vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms' and look for vGPU profiles in VM configuration, or inspect /etc/vmware/vgpu profiles. Also verify nvidia-vgpu or nvidia-gridd services are running if applicable.Affected if No VMs have vGPU devices assigned and no vGPU configuration exists, the attack surface is not present.
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Compare installed version to affected rangesReference the version found in step 2 against the affected ranges: 8.0 <= version < 8.7, OR 11.0 <= version < 11.4, OR 12.0 <= version < 12.2. If the version matches any of these ranges, the environment is vulnerable.Affected if Installed version falls within any of the affected ranges (8.0-8.6, 11.0-11.3, or 12.0-12.1).
The environment is affected if NVIDIA vGPU Manager is installed with vGPU functionality enabled and the installed version falls within 8.0-8.6, 11.0-11.3, or 12.0-12.1.
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 data8.711.412.2
Upgrade NVIDIA vGPU software to version 12.2, 11.4, or 8.7 or later to obtain the validated input patches. Coordinate maintenance windows as vGPU Manager updates require host-level changes.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1080 — 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-2021-1080 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data