dbcve.org
Jetson LinuxOperating system · Nvidia

CVE-2023-25520

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 32.7.4 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
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 Jetson Linux Driver Package contains a vulnerability in nvbootctrl, where a privileged local attacker can configure invalid settings, resulting in 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 Jetson Linux Driver Package contains a vulnerability in nvbootctrl where a privileged local attacker can configure invalid settings, causing a denial of service condition. The attacker must have local access and some level of privileges to execute nvbootctrl with malicious parameters.

MitigationApply the latest NVIDIA Jetson Linux Driver Package update when available. Restrict local access to privileged operations and limit who can execute nvbootctrl.

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
Jetson LinuxOperating system
Affected:< 32.7.4

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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. Verify Jetson Linux system type
    Check if the system is a NVIDIA Jetson device by examining /proc/cpuinfo for ARM processors or checking for Jetson-specific files in /boot/ or /proc/device-tree/. Alternatively, run 'nvcc --version' if CUDA is installed, or check dmesg for 'Jetson' boot messages.
    Affected if The system is not a Jetson Linux device (the vulnerability only affects Jetson devices)
  2. Determine Jetson Linux version
    Check the installed Jetson Linux version by running 'cat /etc/nv_tegra_release' or checking the kernel version with 'uname -r'. Compare against the version string in the release file to identify the specific Jetson Linux release.
    Affected if The Jetson Linux version is less than 32.7.4 (the vulnerability affects versions before this)
  3. Locate nvbootctrl binary
    Search for the nvbootctrl binary using 'which nvbootctrl' or 'find / -name nvbootctrl -type f 2>/dev/null'. This binary is part of the Jetson Linux Driver Package.
    Affected if The nvbootctrl binary exists on the system (the vulnerability is in this component)
  4. Check nvbootctrl execute permissions
    Examine file permissions with 'ls -la /usr/bin/nvbootctrl' or equivalent path. Also check group ownership and whether any privileged user groups (like sudo or root) have exclusive access.
    Affected if Non-privileged users or untrusted local users can execute nvbootctrl (the attacker needs local access with some privileges)

A system is affected if it is a NVIDIA Jetson Linux device running version less than 32.7.4 where nvbootctrl is accessible to users with local access privileges.

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 32.7.4 or later
Fixed in 32.7.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the latest NVIDIA Jetson Linux Driver Package update when available. Restrict local access to privileged operations and limit who can execute nvbootctrl.

Recommended fix High confidence

Jetson Linux 32.7.4

  1. Identify the current Jetson Linux version running on the device using 'cat /etc/nv_tegra_release' or 'dpkg -l | grep nvidia-l4t-core'
  2. Back up all critical data and configurations before proceeding with the upgrade
  3. Upgrade the Jetson Linux Driver Package to version 32.7.4 or later
  4. Apply the update using the NVIDIA SDK Manager or the appropriate OTA update mechanism for your device
  5. Reboot the system after the upgrade completes
  6. Verify the new version is installed by running 'cat /etc/nv_tegra_release' to confirm version 32.7.4 or higher is running

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

Fix this in Jetson Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2023-25520 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