CVE-2023-25518
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 · uneditedNVIDIA Jetson contains a vulnerability in CBoot, where the PCIe controller is initialized without IOMMU, which may allow an attacker with physical access to the target device to read and write to arbitrary memory. A successful exploit of this vulnerability may lead to code execution, denial of service, information disclosure, and loss of integrity.
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 confidenceNVIDIA Jetson CBoot initializes the PCIe controller without enabling IOMMU protection, allowing an attacker with physical access to perform DMA attacks and read/write arbitrary memory locations. This bypasses hardware isolation between PCIe devices and system memory.
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< 32.7.4CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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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Check Jetson Linux versionRun 'cat /etc/nv_tegra_release' or check the kernel image version with 'uname -a' to identify the installed Jetson Linux version.Affected if The version is below 32.7.4 (e.g., 32.7.3, 32.6.1, etc.)
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Identify CBoot configuration fileLocate the CBoot configuration file on the Jetson device, typically found at /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf or within the bootloader partition. Inspect the CBoot binary or configuration for PCIe initialization parameters.Affected if The CBoot configuration does not include IOMMU settings for the PCIe controller, or IOMMU is explicitly disabled for PCIe.
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Verify PCIe IOMMU is enabled in CBootCheck CBoot source or binary for the PCIe initialization code. Look for calls to enable IOMMU protection during PCIe controller setup, or inspect the device tree and boot parameters for 'iommu' or 'dma-coherent' settings applied to PCIe controllers.Affected if The CBoot initialization sequence initializes PCIe without invoking IOMMU configuration, leaving DMA protection disabled.
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Confirm PCIe device presenceRun 'lspci' or check /sys/bus/pci/devices to enumerate active PCIe devices on the Jetson system.Affected if PCIe devices are enumerated and active, making the system susceptible to DMA attacks via the unprotected PCIe bus.
The system is affected if running Jetson Linux below version 32.7.4 with PCIe enabled and CBoot has not configured IOMMU protection for the PCIe controller.
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.
dbcve · scoped32.7.4
Enable IOMMU for the PCIe controller in CBoot by configuring the IOMMU settings during PCIe initialization. Update CBoot firmware to the latest NVIDIA release containing the fix.
Jetson Linux 32.7.4
- Download Jetson Linux 32.7.4 (or latest stable release) from NVIDIA's official Jetson developer website
- Backup all critical data and configurations from the Jetson device
- Use NVIDIA SDK Manager or the appropriate flashing tool (like flash.sh) to flash the updated Jetson Linux image onto the target device
- After flashing, verify that CBoot initializes the PCIe controller with IOMMU enabled by checking the boot logs or system configuration
- Confirm the IOMMU is active by checking /proc/interrupts or dmesg for IOMMU-related messages
- Reboot the device and ensure all PCIe devices function correctly post-upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25518 — 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-2023-25518 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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