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Incorrect AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-863

CVE-2025-23256

HIGH · 8.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
89/100
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 BlueField contains a vulnerability in the management interface, where an attacker with local access could cause incorrect authorization to modify the configuration. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to denial of service, escalation of privileges, 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 BlueField DPU contains an authorization bypass vulnerability in its management interface. Attackers with local access can bypass proper authorization checks to modify system configuration, potentially leading to denial of service, privilege escalation, information disclosure, or data tampering.

MitigationRestrict local access to the BlueField management interface, implement strong access controls, and apply NVIDIA's security patches when available. Network segment the management interface from untrusted networks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/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. Identify BlueField DPU hardware in environment
    Run 'mlxconfig -d <device> query' or check system inventory for NVIDIA BlueField DPU devices. Look for devices with model names containing 'BlueField' or check 'lspci' output for Mellanox BlueField entries.
    Affected if No BlueField DPU hardware is found in the environment
  2. Check BlueField firmware version
    Execute 'mlxfwmanager --query' or access the BMC/BlueField BMC web interface to retrieve the current firmware version. Compare the firmware version string against NVIDIA's published affected version ranges for CVE-2025-23256.
    Affected if The installed firmware version falls within the affected version range and has not been patched
  3. Verify management interface accessibility
    Check if the DPU's management interface (BMC, IPMI, Redfish, or web-based management) is accessible. Use 'ipmitool -I lanplus -H <bmc_ip> chassis status' or test connectivity to the BMC IP address on ports 443, 80, or 623.
    Affected if The management interface is reachable from untrusted network segments or console access is not properly restricted
  4. Inspect management interface authorization configuration
    Review user accounts and privilege levels configured on the BlueField BMC using 'ipmitool user list' or via the BMC web interface. Check for any misconfigured user privileges or excessive permissions granted to non-administrator accounts.
    Affected if Non-administrator accounts have been granted elevated privileges or authorization controls are misconfigured
  5. Audit recent management interface configuration changes
    Review BMC/BlueField logs for unauthorized configuration modifications. Use 'ipmitool sel list' to check the System Event Log, or review BMC audit logs for changes to user accounts, network settings, or security policies.
    Affected if Unexpected or unauthorized configuration changes are present in the logs

A user is affected if they have a BlueField DPU running firmware within the affected version range with its management interface accessible and potential authorization misconfigurations present.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict local access to the BlueField management interface, implement strong access controls, and apply NVIDIA's security patches when available. Network segment the management interface from untrusted networks.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2025-23256 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
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