dbcve.org
Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2021-1122

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.9 / 11.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
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 dereference a NULL pointer, which may lead to denial of service.

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 Manager's vGPU plugin contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in its hypervisor-level virtual GPU component. When triggered, this causes a kernel-level failure leading to denial of service, likely affecting all VMs utilizing the vGPU on that hypervisor host.

MitigationApply NVIDIA vGPU software updates as they become available; this is a server-side fix requiring hypervisor patching and potential VM restarts during a maintenance window.

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
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Confirm NVIDIA vGPU software is installed
    On the hypervisor host, check for vGPU Manager installation. On VMware ESXi, run 'esxcli software vib list | grep -i nvidia' or check /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/nvidia* files. On KVM, check for nvidia-vgpu-*.ko kernel modules or nvidia-vgpu-manager package.
    Affected if No NVIDIA vGPU components are found, then the system is not affected.
  2. Identify the installed vGPU Manager version
    On ESXi, run 'nvidia-smi -v' or check the VIB version via 'esxcli software vib get -n nvidia*. On KVM, run 'nvidia-smi -v' or check the package version with 'rpm -qa | grep nvidia-vgpu' or 'dpkg -l | grep nvidia-vgpu'.
    Affected if Cannot determine version, treat as potentially affected.
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Check if the installed version falls within: >= 8.0 and < 8.9, OR >= 11.0 and < 11.6, OR >= 12.0 and < 12.4, OR >= 13.0 and < 13.1. If the version is 8.9+, 11.6+, 12.4+, or 13.1+, it is patched and not affected.
    Affected if Version matches any of the affected ranges listed above.
  4. Verify vGPU plugin is in use
    Check if any VMs are configured with vGPU devices. On ESXi, run 'vmware -v' to list VMs and check their hardware config for vGPU passthrough. On KVM, check for vGPU device assignments in domain XML configs or libvirt.
    Affected if vGPU plugin is not configured or no VMs use vGPU, the DoS condition cannot be triggered even with a vulnerable version.

The environment is affected if NVIDIA vGPU Manager is installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND at least one VM is utilizing a vGPU on the hypervisor.

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 NVIDIA vGPU software updates as they become available; this is a server-side fix requiring hypervisor patching and potential VM restarts during a maintenance window.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to the first fixed version in your current branch: 8.9 (for 8.x), 11.6 (for 11.x), 12.4 (for 12.x), or 13.1 (for 13.x) - or migrate to a newer stable branch like 14.x

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA vGPU software version using 'nvidia-smi' or the vGPU Manager version
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (8.x, 11.x, 12.x, or 13.x) the current installation falls into
  3. 3. For version 8.0-8.8: Upgrade to version 8.9 or later (preferably latest 8.x stable)
  4. 4. For version 11.0-11.5: Upgrade to version 11.6 or later (preferably latest 11.x stable)
  5. 5. For version 12.0-12.3: Upgrade to version 12.4 or later (preferably latest 12.x stable)
  6. 6. For version 13.0-13.0: Upgrade to version 13.1 or later (preferably latest 13.x stable)
  7. 7. Download the appropriate vGPU software package from NVIDIA's website or support portal
  8. 8. Follow NVIDIA's standard vGPU software upgrade procedure to apply the update
Caveat Review NVIDIA's vGPU release notes for any compatibility changes, guest OS support updates, or hypervisor requirements between versions; test in non-production environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1122 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-1122 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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