CVE-2021-1084
📋 TL;DR
The NVIDIA vGPU driver vulnerability (CVE-2021-1084) allows attackers to exploit improper input validation in the guest kernel mode driver and Virtual GPU Manager, potentially leading to information disclosure, data tampering, or denial of service. This affects organizations using NVIDIA vGPU technology for virtualized GPU environments. The vulnerability impacts vGPU versions 12.x (prior to 12.2) and 11.x (prior to 11.4).
💻 Affected Systems
- NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin)
- NVIDIA vGPU guest kernel mode driver
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of the vGPU environment allowing data exfiltration, system manipulation, and persistent denial of service across virtualized GPU infrastructure.
Likely Case
Information disclosure from vGPU memory or denial of service affecting virtual machine performance and availability.
If Mitigated
Limited impact through network segmentation and proper access controls, with potential for isolated denial of service.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to the virtualized environment and knowledge of vGPU driver internals. No public exploit code has been disclosed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: vGPU version 12.2 or later, vGPU version 11.4 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5172
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download updated vGPU driver from NVIDIA portal. 2. Update Virtual GPU Manager on hypervisor hosts. 3. Update guest VM vGPU drivers. 4. Restart affected virtual machines and hypervisor hosts.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allIsolate vGPU management interfaces and virtual machines from untrusted networks
Access Control Restrictions
allLimit administrative access to vGPU management interfaces and hypervisor hosts
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate vGPU infrastructure
- Apply principle of least privilege to vGPU management access and monitor for anomalous activity
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check vGPU driver version on hypervisor hosts and guest VMs using 'nvidia-smi -q' or driver management toolsCheck Version:
nvidia-smi -q | grep 'Driver Version' or check NVIDIA driver properties in Windows Device ManagerVerify Fix Applied:
Verify vGPU driver version is 12.2+ for v12.x or 11.4+ for v11.x series📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual vGPU driver errors
- Guest VM crashes related to GPU operations
- Hypervisor logs showing vGPU plugin failures
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic to vGPU management interfaces
- Multiple connection attempts to vGPU ports
SIEM Query:
source="hypervisor_logs" AND ("vGPU" OR "NVIDIA") AND ("error" OR "crash" OR "failure")