CVE-2023-31032 – This vulnerability in NVIDIA DGX A100 SBIOS all... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-31032?

CVE-2023-31032 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability in NVIDIA DGX A100 SBIOS allows local users to trigger dynamic variable evaluation, potentially causing denial of service. It affects NVIDIA DGX A100 systems with vulnerable SBIOS versions. Attackers need local access to exploit this vulnerability.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in NVIDIA DGX A100 SBIOS allows local users to trigger dynamic variable evaluation, potentially causing denial of service. It affects NVIDIA DGX A100 systems with vulnerable SBIOS versions. Attackers need local access to exploit this vulnerability.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

NVIDIA DGX A100

Versions: SBIOS versions prior to the patched version

Operating Systems: All OS running on affected hardware

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Vulnerability is in the system BIOS/firmware, affecting the hardware platform regardless of operating system

📦 What is this software?

Dgx A100 Firmware by Nvidia

View all CVEs affecting Dgx A100 Firmware →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system crash or instability requiring physical intervention to restore functionality

🟠

Likely Case

Temporary system unavailability or performance degradation until reboot

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper access controls limiting local user privileges

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access, not remotely exploitable

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Malicious insiders or compromised accounts with local access could cause service disruption

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires local access and knowledge of specific SBIOS operations to trigger the vulnerability

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Check NVIDIA advisory for specific SBIOS version

Vendor Advisory: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5510

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download updated SBIOS from NVIDIA support portal
2. Follow NVIDIA DGX A100 firmware update procedures
3. Reboot system to apply firmware update

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict local access

all

Limit physical and remote local access to authorized personnel only

Implement least privilege

all

Ensure users have minimal necessary privileges to reduce attack surface

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict access controls to limit who can log into affected systems
Monitor system stability and have recovery procedures ready for potential DoS events

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check current SBIOS version against NVIDIA advisory to determine if vulnerable

Check Version:

dmidecode -t bios | grep Version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify SBIOS version has been updated to patched version after firmware update

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unexpected system crashes or reboots
BIOS/firmware error messages in system logs

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

Search for system crash events or unexpected reboots on DGX A100 systems

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-31032

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-627

Published: January 12, 2024

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5510 Vendor Advisory
https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5510 Vendor Advisory

📤 Share & Export

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