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Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2021-1119

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.9 / 11.6 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin), where it can double-free a pointer, which may lead to denial of service. This flaw may result in a write-what-where condition, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code impacting integrity and availability.

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 a double-free vulnerability in the Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin) that can be triggered during GPU virtualization operations. The double-free can lead to a write-what-where condition, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution. Successful exploitation results in denial of service and impacts both integrity and availability.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA vGPU software security update or patch that addresses the double-free vulnerability in the vGPU Manager. Verify compatibility with your virtual desktop infrastructure before deployment.

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 GpuApplication
Affected:>= 8.0, < 8.9>= 11.0, < 11.6>= 12.0, < 12.4>= 13.0, < 13.1

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Verify NVIDIA vGPU Manager is installed
    On the hypervisor host (ESXi, Citrix Hypervisor, or KVM), check for the presence of the NVIDIA vGPU Manager software package. On ESXi, run 'esxcli software vib list | grep nvidia' or check the installed VIBs. On Citrix Hypervisor, run 'rpm -qa | grep nvidia' or check the plugin packages. On KVM, check the installed RPM packages for nvidia-vgpu-manager or vgpu components.
    Affected if NVIDIA vGPU Manager software is not installed on the system.
  2. Identify the vGPU Manager version
    Retrieve the installed version of the Virtual GPU Manager. On ESXi, run 'esxcli software vib list | grep -i vgpu' or check the vGPU plugin VIB version. On Citrix Hypervisor, run 'rpm -qa | grep vgpu' to get the package version. On KVM-based systems, check the nvidia-vgpu-manager RPM version using 'rpm -q nvidia-vgpu-manager'.
    Affected if Unable to determine the vGPU Manager version from the installed packages.
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Match the identified vGPU Manager version to the vulnerable ranges: 8.0 <= version < 8.9, 11.0 <= version < 11.6, 12.0 <= version < 12.4, or 13.0 <= version < 13.1. Note that versions outside these ranges (including 8.9+, 11.6+, 12.4+, 13.1+) are not affected by this CVE.
    Affected if The installed vGPU Manager version falls within any of these ranges: >= 8.0 and < 8.9, >= 11.0 and < 11.6, >= 12.0 and < 12.4, or >= 13.0 and < 13.1.
  4. Confirm vGPU functionality is in use
    Verify that the system is actively using GPU virtualization. Check for configured vGPU instances or virtual GPUs assigned to VMs. On ESXi, use 'nvidia-smi vgpu' or check the vGPU manager service status. On other hypervisors, verify that VMs have vGPU devices attached or that the vGPU plugin is loaded and operational.
    Affected if The vGPU Manager is installed but GPU virtualization features are not actively configured or in use (lower risk exposure).

The system is affected if NVIDIA vGPU Manager is installed and its version falls within 8.0-8.8, 11.0-11.5, 12.0-12.3, or 13.0, as these versions contain the double-free vulnerability in the vGPU plugin during GPU virtualization operations.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.9 / 11.6 / 12.4 or later
Fixed in 8.911.612.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the NVIDIA vGPU software security update or patch that addresses the double-free vulnerability in the vGPU Manager. Verify compatibility with your virtual desktop infrastructure before deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to version 8.9 (for 8.x branch), 11.6 (for 11.x branch), 12.4 (for 12.x branch), or 13.1 (for 13.x branch) - recommended latest: 13.1

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA vGPU software version by checking the Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin) version
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (8.x, 11.x, 12.x, or 13.x) is currently in use
  3. 3. For systems running >= 8.0 and < 8.9: Upgrade to version 8.9 or later
  4. 4. For systems running >= 11.0 and < 11.6: Upgrade to version 11.6 or later
  5. 5. For systems running >= 12.0 and < 12.4: Upgrade to version 12.4 or later
  6. 6. For systems running >= 13.0 and < 13.1: Upgrade to version 13.1 or later
  7. 7. Download the appropriate NVIDIA vGPU software package from the NVIDIA Enterprise Customer Portal or nvidia.custhelp.com
  8. 8. Follow NVIDIA's standard upgrade procedure for vGPU software, which typically involves updating the hypervisor and Virtual GPU Manager
Caveat Verify hypervisor compatibility with the target vGPU version before upgrading; some older hypervisors may not support newer vGPU releases

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2021-1119 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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