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Virtual Gpu ManagerApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2021-1083

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.4 / 12.2 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
NVIDIA 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) and version 11.x (prior to 11.4).

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 confidence

NVIDIA vGPU software contains an input validation vulnerability in the guest kernel mode driver and Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin) where input length is not properly validated. This could allow a malicious guest VM to trigger information disclosure, data tampering, or denial of service conditions.

MitigationUpdate NVIDIA vGPU software to version 12.2 or later (for 12.x) or version 11.4 or later (for 11.x) to obtain the patched guest kernel mode driver and vGPU plugin.

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
Virtual Gpu ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.4>= 12.0, < 12.2

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if NVIDIA vGPU software is installed
    On the hypervisor host, check for the presence of NVIDIA vGPU packages. On Linux, use 'dpkg -l | grep nvidia-vgpu' or 'rpm -qa | grep nvidia-vgpu'. On Windows Server, check Programs and Features for NVIDIA vGPU software.
    Affected if No NVIDIA vGPU packages are found - the system is not using vGPU and is not affected.
  2. Identify Virtual GPU Manager version
    On the hypervisor, run 'nvidia-smi -v' or check the vGPU plugin version through the hypervisor's management interface (e.g., 'xm list' or 'vir list' for Xen/KVM). The version is typically displayed as part of the driver package name or in the NVIDIA vGPU Manager service information.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 11.0 <= version < 11.4 OR 12.0 <= version < 12.2.
  3. Confirm guest VM has vGPU passthrough configured
    Check the guest VM configuration on the hypervisor. For Xen: 'xl list -v <vm_name>'. For KVM: 'virsh dumpxml <vm_name>' and look for '<vgpu>' or '<graphics>' elements with vGPU assignment. Also run 'nvidia-smi' inside the guest VM - if it returns GPU information, a vGPU is assigned.
    Affected if A vGPU is assigned to the guest VM - the guest kernel mode driver is active and could be exploited.
  4. Check for guest kernel mode driver
    Inside the guest VM, run 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to list loaded NVIDIA kernel modules. Also check 'nvidia-smi' output for driver version information. The vulnerability exists in both the guest driver and the vGPU plugin on the host.
    Affected if NVIDIA kernel modules are loaded in the guest VM with a version matching the affected host vGPU Manager versions.

A system is affected if NVIDIA vGPU Manager version is 11.0 through 11.3.x or 12.0 through 12.1.x AND a vGPU is assigned to at least one guest VM.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.4 / 12.2 or later
Fixed in 11.412.2
Interim mitigation

Update NVIDIA vGPU software to version 12.2 or later (for 12.x) or version 11.4 or later (for 11.x) to obtain the patched guest kernel mode driver and vGPU plugin.

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-1083 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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