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Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2023-0197

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.12 / 13.7 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
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, where a malicious user in a guest VM can cause a NULL-pointer dereference, 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 software contains a NULL-pointer dereference vulnerability in the Virtual GPU Manager component. A malicious authenticated user within a guest virtual machine can exploit this hypervisor-level flaw to trigger a NULL-pointer dereference, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply NVIDIA's patch for CVE-2023-0197 when available; until then, restrict untrusted users from guest VMs in NVIDIA vGPU environments and monitor for exploitation indicators.

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
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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
    Check system for NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager components. On the hypervisor, look for vGPU Manager packages or drivers. Common locations: /usr/src/nvidia-vgpu-* or check installed packages via package manager (dpkg -l | grep nvidia or rpm -qa | grep nvidia).
    Affected if NVIDIA vGPU software is present on the system
  2. Identify Virtual GPU Manager version
    Query the installed Virtual GPU Manager version. On Linux hypervisors, this may be visible in /sys/drivers/mdev or via nvidia-smi vgpu commands if available. Check the nvidia-vgpu-manager package version via: dpkg -l nvidia-vgpu-manager or rpm -qa nvidia-vgpu-manager.
    Affected if The installed version falls within < 11.12, >= 13.0 and < 13.7, or >= 15.0 and < 15.2
  3. Verify vGPU-enabled guest VMs exist
    Check for configured vGPU-enabled virtual machines. Using hypervisor management tools (e.g., virsh for KVM, VMware tools, or hypervisor-specific APIs), list VMs that have vGPU devices assigned. Look for mdev devices or vGPU PCI passthrough configurations.
    Affected if Guest VMs with vGPU devices assigned are running or configured
  4. Confirm guest VM access by untrusted users
    Review access controls on the hypervisor and guest VMs. Determine whether users other than trusted administrators have access to the guest virtual machines that possess vGPU passthrough. Check VM user permissions, RBAC settings, or authentication configurations.
    Affected if Untrusted or non-administrative users have login access to guest VMs with vGPU devices

The environment is affected if NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager is installed with a version matching < 11.12, >= 13.0 to < 13.7, or >= 15.0 to < 15.2, and guest VMs with vGPU devices assigned can be accessed by users who could exploit the NULL-pointer dereference vulnerability.

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 NVIDIA's patch for CVE-2023-0197 when available; until then, restrict untrusted users from guest VMs in NVIDIA vGPU environments and monitor for exploitation indicators.

Recommended fix High confidence

vGPU 11.12+ (11.x series), vGPU 13.7+ (13.x series), or vGPU 15.2+ (15.x series) depending on your release branch

  1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA vGPU software version using nvidia-smi or the hypervisor's vGPU management interface
  2. Determine which vGPU release series (11.x, 13.x, or 15.x) is in use
  3. For vGPU 11.x releases: Upgrade to version 11.12 or later
  4. For vGPU 13.x releases: Upgrade to version 13.7 or later
  5. For vGPU 15.x releases: Upgrade to version 15.2 or later
  6. Verify the upgrade by checking the Virtual GPU Manager version in the hypervisor and confirming guest VMs can still access vGPU devices
Caveat Standard vGPU upgrade procedure; requires guest VM restart; verify hypervisor compatibility matrix before upgrading

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

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-0197 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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