CVE-2021-1081
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 guest kernel mode driver and Virtual GPU manager (vGPU plugin), in which an input length 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 · high confidenceNVIDIA vGPU software contains an input validation vulnerability in the guest kernel mode driver and vGPU plugin where input length is not properly validated. This could allow an attacker to trigger buffer overflow conditions leading to information disclosure, data tampering, or denial of service.
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 installed on the hypervisorOn ESXi, run 'esxcli software vib list | grep -i nvidia' or check vib package name containing 'nvidia-vgpu'. On Citrix Hypervisor, run 'xe host-list' and look for vGPU-enabled hosts.Affected if No NVIDIA vGPU software vibs or packages are present means not affected.
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Determine the installed vGPU Manager versionRun 'nvidia-smi -v' or check the installed VIB/version package on the hypervisor (esxcli software vib list | grep vgpu). For Citrix, use 'xe host-software-version'.Affected if Version is 8.0 to 8.6, 11.0 to 11.3, or 12.0 to 12.1 indicates the environment is within affected version ranges.
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Confirm vGPU functionality is enabledList active vGPU VMs by checking VM configuration for vGPU device assignments. On ESXi, use 'vmware -v' or check VM hardware settings for 'NVIDIA GRID vGPU' profile.Affected if vGPU is not enabled on any VMs indicates the specific attack surface is not present.
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Check guest VM NVIDIA driver versionInside a VM with vGPU, run 'nvidia-smi' to see the guest driver version or check the installed nvidia driver package version.Affected if Guest drivers from affected vGPU Manager versions may also be vulnerable if they correspond to unpatched vGPU software.
If NVIDIA vGPU Manager version falls within 8.0-8.6, 11.0-11.3, or 12.0-12.1 AND vGPU functionality is enabled on the hypervisor, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 patched builds that include proper input length validation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1081 — 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-2021-1081 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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