dbcve.org
Connectx FirmwareOperating system · Nvidia

CVE-2023-0203

HIGH · 7.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 35.1012 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, and ConnectX6-DX contain a vulnerability in the NIC firmware, where an unprivileged user can exploit insufficient granularity of access control, 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 · high confidence

NVIDIA ConnectX-5/6/6-DX network interface card firmware contains an access control vulnerability where insufficient granularity allows unprivileged users to trigger denial of service conditions. An authenticated but unprivileged attacker can exploit the overly broad access control model to cause the NIC to become unresponsive or crash.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware update from NVIDIA to address the access control granularity issue. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict physical and administrative access to the affected NICs to trusted personnel only.

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
Connectx FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 35.1012

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Identify NVIDIA ConnectX NIC model
    Check the network adapters in your system inventory or use 'lspci | grep -i mellanox' on Linux, or check Device Manager on Windows, to list Mellanox/NVIDIA ConnectX network cards installed in the system
    Affected if No ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, or ConnectX-6-DX cards are found in the environment, the system is not affected by this CVE
  2. Retrieve current firmware version
    Use NVIDIA's firmware tools such as 'mlxfwmanager' (run 'mlxfwmanager -q' or 'mlxfwmanager --query') or access the NIC's firmware info via its management interface (UFM, IPMI, or in-box diagnostics) to obtain the installed firmware version string
    Affected if The installed firmware version cannot be retrieved or the NIC is not manageable via standard NVIDIA tools
  3. Compare firmware version against affected range
    Compare the retrieved firmware version to the affected range: any version below 35.1012 is vulnerable. For example, version 35.1010, 14.32.1010, or any 14.x/20.x/22.x/25.x/28.x/31.x series version below 35.1012 is affected
    Affected if The installed firmware version is less than 35.1012 (for example, 35.1000, 32.1010, or 14.31.2000) - the system is vulnerable to CVE-2023-0203
  4. Assess unprivileged user access to NIC management
    Review user accounts and access controls configured on the NIC (via UFM, NVIDIA firmware tool, or admin interface). Determine if non-administrative or unprivileged user accounts exist with permission to trigger NIC operations or configuration changes
    Affected if Unprivileged or non-administrative user accounts exist with authenticated access to the NIC management interface, and the firmware is below 35.1012 - the denial-of-service condition can be triggered

The environment is affected if an NVIDIA ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, or ConnectX-6-DX NIC has firmware version below 35.1012 AND unprivileged authenticated users can access the NIC management interface.

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 35.1012 or later
Fixed in 35.1012
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied firmware update from NVIDIA to address the access control granularity issue. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict physical and administrative access to the affected NICs to trusted personnel only.

Recommended fix High confidence

ConnectX Firmware version 35.1012 or later

  1. Download the latest ConnectX firmware version 35.1012 or later from the NVIDIA firmware download portal (nvidia.custhelp.com)
  2. Verify the firmware compatibility with your specific ConnectX adapter model (ConnectX-5, ConnectX-6, or ConnectX6-DX)
  3. Back up current firmware configuration if applicable
  4. Use the NVIDIA firmware tools (e.g., flint or mlxfwmanager) to update the firmware: 'mlxfwmanager -s -d <device> -f <firmware_file>'
  5. Reboot the host system or restart the NIC after firmware update
  6. Verify the firmware version has been updated to 35.1012 or later using 'mlxfwquery' or 'mst status'
Caveat Firmware updates may require downtime; ensure compatibility with your Mellanox switch firmware and driver versions before upgrading; some configurations may need to be re-applied after upgrade

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

Fix this in Connectx Firmware 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-2023-0203 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