dbcve.org
Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2023-0189

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.12 / 13.7 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 GPU Display Driver for Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer handler which may lead to code execution, denial of service, escalation of privileges, information disclosure, and data tampering.

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

This is a vulnerability in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux kernel mode layer handler. The flaw may allow a local attacker with kernel access to achieve code execution, denial of service, privilege escalation, information disclosure, or data tampering through improper handling in the kernel-mode component.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA security update/patch for the GPU Display Driver when available. Prioritize patching on systems with untrusted users or exposed attack surfaces.

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:< 11.12>= 13.0, < 13.7>= 15.0, < 15.2

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. Identify if NVIDIA vGPU software is installed
    Run 'dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia-vgpu' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i nvidia-vgpu' to list installed NVIDIA vGPU packages. On RHEL/CentOS, also check 'lsmod | grep nvidia' to see if NVIDIA kernel modules are loaded.
    Affected if No NVIDIA vGPU packages are installed, the system is not affected.
  2. Determine the NVIDIA vGPU driver version
    Run 'nvidia-smi -q | grep -i vgpu' to query vGPU driver information. Alternatively, check the kernel module version with 'modinfo nvidia | grep version' if the nvidia module is loaded.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or no NVIDIA vGPU software is detected.
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Match the detected version to the affected ranges: version < 11.12, OR version >= 13.0 and < 13.7, OR version >= 15.0 and < 15.2
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: < 11.12, >= 13.0 and < 13.7, >= 15.0 and < 15.2
  4. Verify kernel-mode layer component is active
    Check that the nvidia-vgpud daemon is running with 'systemctl status nvidia-vgpud' or 'ps aux | grep nvidia-vgpud'. Also verify kernel modules are loaded with 'lsmod | grep nvidia'.
    Affected if The nvidia-vgpud daemon is running and NVIDIA kernel modules are loaded, exposing the kernel-mode component.

A system is affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU software is installed, the kernel-mode nvidia-vgpud daemon is running, and the installed version falls within < 11.12, >= 13.0 to < 13.7, or >= 15.0 to < 15.2.

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 11.12 / 13.7 / 15.2 or later
Fixed in 11.1213.715.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the NVIDIA security update/patch for the GPU Display Driver when available. Prioritize patching on systems with untrusted users or exposed attack surfaces.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to NVIDIA Virtual GPU driver version 11.12, 13.7, or 15.2 (or later) depending on your branch

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA Virtual GPU driver version using: nvidia-smi or cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version
  2. 2. Determine which version branch your current installation belongs to (11.x, 13.x, or 15.x)
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed driver version from the NVIDIA driver download page or your enterprise software repository
  4. 4. Stop any running GPU workloads or virtual machines using the GPU
  5. 5. Uninstall the current driver: sudo nvidia-uninstall (for bare metal) or follow your virtualization platform's documentation for vGPU driver removal
  6. 6. Install the fixed version of the NVIDIA Virtual GPU driver
  7. 7. Reboot the system to load the new kernel module
  8. 8. Verify the new driver version is loaded: nvidia-smi or cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version
Caveat Review NVIDIA's release notes for the target version for any compatibility changes with your hypervisor or guest operating system

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

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,600
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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-2023-0189 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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