CVE-2021-1082
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in NVIDIA vGPU software allows attackers to exploit improper input validation in the Virtual GPU Manager, potentially leading to information disclosure, data tampering, or denial of service. It affects organizations using NVIDIA vGPU technology for virtualization environments. The vulnerability impacts vGPU versions 12.x (prior to 12.2), 11.x (prior to 11.4), and 8.x (prior to 8.7).
💻 Affected Systems
- NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of the vGPU host, allowing attackers to access sensitive data from other virtual machines, modify system configurations, or crash the virtualization platform.
Likely Case
Information disclosure from the vGPU host or denial of service affecting virtual machines using GPU acceleration.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation and access controls prevent unauthorized access to vGPU management interfaces.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to the vGPU management interface, which typically requires some level of authentication or network access to the virtualization host.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: vGPU 12.2, 11.4, 8.7
Vendor Advisory: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5172
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the updated vGPU software from NVIDIA's official portal. 2. Install the update on all affected vGPU hosts. 3. Restart the vGPU service or reboot the host system as required.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allRestrict access to vGPU management interfaces to authorized administrators only.
Access Control
allImplement strict authentication and authorization controls for vGPU management access.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate vGPU hosts from untrusted networks and implement strict network access controls.
- Monitor vGPU management interfaces for unusual activity and implement additional logging.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the installed vGPU version on the host system using 'nvidia-smi -q' or by examining the installed package version.Check Version:
nvidia-smi -q | grep 'Driver Version' or check the installed package version via your distribution's package manager.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify that the vGPU version is 12.2 or higher for 12.x branch, 11.4 or higher for 11.x branch, or 8.7 or higher for 8.x branch.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual access patterns to vGPU management interfaces
- Failed authentication attempts to vGPU services
- Unexpected process crashes related to vGPU components
Network Indicators:
- Unusual network traffic to vGPU management ports (typically TCP 3478 or other configured ports)
- Connection attempts from unauthorized IP addresses to vGPU services
SIEM Query:
source="vGPU_logs" AND (event_type="authentication_failure" OR event_type="service_crash")