CVE-2021-34389
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 · uneditedTrusty contains a vulnerability in NVIDIA OTE protocol message parsing code, which is present in all the TAs. An incorrect bounds check can allow a local user through a malicious client to access memory from the heap in the TrustZone, which may lead to information disclosure.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability exists in the NVIDIA OTE (Open Trust Environment) protocol message parsing code within Trusty, NVIDIA's Trusted Execution Environment. An incorrect bounds check in the parsing logic allows a local attacker using a malicious client to read heap memory from the TrustZone, resulting in information disclosure. The flaw affects all Trusted Applications (TAs) that use the OTE protocol.
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< 32.5.1CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 the Jetson Linux versionRun 'cat /etc/nv_tegra_release' or 'cat /etc/os-release' to retrieve the installed Jetson Linux versionAffected if The version displayed is earlier than 32.5.1 (e.g., 32.4.x, 32.3.x, etc.)
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Confirm Trusty TEE is presentCheck for the presence of the Trusty TEE by looking for '/trusty' filesystem or running 'ls /dev | grep trusty'Affected if Trusty TEE is present and active on the device
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Identify Trusted Applications using OTE protocolReview the list of installed Trusted Applications (TAs) and their configurations, typically found in /vendor/firmware or /trusty partition, and check if any utilize the OTE protocol for client communicationAffected if Any Trusted Applications that communicate with external clients using the OTE protocol are installed and enabled
A system is affected if it runs Jetson Linux version earlier than 32.5.1 with Trusty TEE enabled and has Trusted Applications that use the OTE protocol for client interactions.
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 data32.5.1
Organizations should update to any NVIDIA-provided patches that correct the bounds check validation in the OTE protocol message parser. Until a patch is available, minimize exposure by restricting local access and ensuring only trusted client applications interact with TAs.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-34389 — 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-2021-34389 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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