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Virtual GpuApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2023-0198

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, where improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer can lead to denial of service, 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

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the kernel mode layer where operations are not properly restricted within memory buffer bounds. This local privilege escalation issue in the GPU driver kernel component can lead to denial of service, information disclosure, and data tampering.

MitigationApply the NVIDIA GPU driver patch/update to the latest version that addresses this kernel mode layer vulnerability, and verify GPU functionality after the update.

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. Verify NVIDIA GPU driver is installed on Linux
    Run `lsmod | grep -E 'nvidia|nvlddmkm'` to list loaded NVIDIA kernel modules, or run `nvidia-smi` to check if the driver is accessible.
    Affected if No NVIDIA driver modules are loaded or nvidia-smi fails - the system is not running the affected driver component.
  2. Obtain the installed NVIDIA driver version
    Run `nvidia-smi` and note the 'Driver Version' field, or check `cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version` for the kernel module version.
    Affected if Cannot retrieve a version number - the NVIDIA driver is not properly installed.
  3. Confirm the driver version falls within vulnerable ranges
    Compare the obtained driver version number against: all versions < 11.12, versions >= 13.0 but < 13.7, and versions >= 15.0 but < 15.2.
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these ranges: < 11.12, >= 13.0 and < 13.7, or >= 15.0 and < 15.2.
  4. Check if running NVIDIA Virtual GPU (vGPU) configuration
    Verify the system is using NVIDIA vGPU by checking `nvidia-smi -q` for vGPU-related fields, or check `/sys/class/misc/nvidia-vgpud` existence, or review hypervisor virtualization configuration.
    Affected if The environment is using NVIDIA Virtual GPU software - this confirms the specific product line affected by this CVE.

A system is affected if it runs NVIDIA Virtual GPU software on Linux with a driver version in the ranges: < 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 GPU driver patch/update to the latest version that addresses this kernel mode layer vulnerability, and verify GPU functionality after the update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Minimum fixed versions: 11.12 (for 11.x branch), 13.7 (for 13.x branch), 15.2 (for 15.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed NVIDIA Virtual GPU driver version using 'nvidia-smi' or checking /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 NVIDIA's website or your distribution's package repository
  4. 4. For 11.x branch: upgrade to version 11.12 or later
  5. 5. For 13.x branch: upgrade to version 13.7 or later
  6. 6. For 15.x branch: upgrade to version 15.2 or later
  7. 7. Install the new driver package using your distribution's package manager (e.g., apt, yum, dnf) or run the NVIDIA installer directly
  8. 8. Reboot the system to load the new kernel module
Caveat Major GPU driver upgrades may require rebuilding kernel modules against new kernel versions; ensure kernel compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Virtual Gpu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2023-0198 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