CVE-2021-34394
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 the NVIDIA OTE protocol that is present in all TAs. An incorrect message stream deserialization allows an attacker to use the malicious CA that is run by the user to cause the buffer overflow, which may lead to information disclosure and data modification.
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 (Object Transfer Environment) protocol used within Trusty, NVIDIA's Trusted Execution Environment. The issue is in incorrect message stream deserialization, which allows a malicious client application (CA) to trigger a buffer overflow. This can lead to information disclosure and potential data modification within the TEE.
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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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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Confirm NVIDIA Jetson platformIdentify if the system is an NVIDIA Jetson device by checking /proc/device-tree/model or using 'nvrpm' utility if availableAffected if System is not a Jetson device - this CVE only affects Jetson platforms
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Check Jetson Linux versionRetrieve the installed Jetson Linux version using 'dpkg -l | grep nvidia-l4t' or 'cat /etc/nv_tegra_release'Affected if Version is earlier than 32.5.1 (the version number shown is less than this)
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Verify Trusty TEE is enabledCheck if Trusty TEE is the active Trusted Execution Environment by examining /proc/tee or consulting NVIDIA Jetson documentation for the TEE in useAffected if Trusty TEE is the active TEE and version check above shows vulnerability
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Assess TEE service accessReview which applications have access to TEE services - check Trusty configuration files or service permissions in /trusty/ or similar Trusty configuration directories if they existAffected if Untrusted or third-party applications have access to TEE services (increases attack surface for this vulnerability)
A user is affected if they are running NVIDIA Jetson Linux with Trusty TEE enabled and the Jetson Linux version is earlier than 32.5.1.
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
Apply NVIDIA-provided patches for Trusty TEE when available. Review and update affected devices to patched Trusty versions. Until a patch is available, minimize attack surface by restricting untrusted applications from accessing TEE services.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-34394 — 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-2021-34394 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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