dbcve.org
NemoApplication · Nvidia

CVE-2025-33212

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.5.3 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 NeMo Framework contains a vulnerability in model loading that could allow an attacker to exploit improper control mechanisms if a user loads a maliciously crafted file. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to code execution, escalation of privileges, denial of service, 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 NeMo Framework has a vulnerability in its model loading functionality where improper control mechanisms allow exploitation when a user loads a maliciously crafted model file. The vulnerability enables code execution, privilege escalation, denial of service, or data tampering through specially crafted files that bypass security checks during the deserialization/loading process.

MitigationOnly load model files from trusted sources and implement strict validation of model file contents before loading. Consider sandboxing model loading operations and applying the principle of least privilege to the loading process.

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
NemoApplication
Affected:< 2.5.3

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Identify installed NeMo Framework version
    Run 'pip show nemo' or check the installed package version via your package manager. Look for the 'Version:' field in the output.
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 2.5.3 (e.g., 2.5.0, 2.4.0, etc.) or if the version cannot be determined but NeMo is present.
  2. Verify NeMo is used for model loading in your environment
    Search your codebase for imports of nemo.core.neural_factory or model loading functions such as 'restore_from' or 'load_state_dict' that load serialized model artifacts.
    Affected if Your application loads NeMo model checkpoint files (.ckpt, .nemo) from disk or external sources.
  3. Check model file source configuration
    Inspect environment variables and configuration files that specify model file paths or download endpoints. Look for settings related to model loading without cryptographic verification.
    Affected if Model files are loaded from locations without provenance verification, or your system trusts model checkpoints without validation.
  4. Audit model loading execution context
    Review logs for model loading operations and examine whether loading occurs in sandboxed or privileged contexts. Check if the process runs with elevated privileges during model deserialization.
    Affected if Model loading executes with elevated privileges (root/admin) or outside of isolated container/sandbox environments.

You are affected if your installed NeMo version is below 2.5.3 AND your environment loads model files from any source, especially untrusted or external ones.

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 2.5.3 or later
Fixed in 2.5.3
Interim mitigation

Only load model files from trusted sources and implement strict validation of model file contents before loading. Consider sandboxing model loading operations and applying the principle of least privilege to the loading process.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nemo 2.5.3

  1. Check the current installed version of Nemo using pip show nemo or pip list | grep -i nemo
  2. Upgrade Nemo to version 2.5.3 or later using: pip install --upgrade nemo>=2.5.3
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the installed version: pip show nemo
  4. Ensure any automated model loading processes or scripts are updated to use the patched version

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

Fix this in Nemo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,680.

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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-2025-33212 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