CVE-2022-21813: Nvidia Cloud Gaming Guest DOS Vulnerability

CVE-2022-21813 Overview

CVE-2022-21813 is a vulnerability affecting the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux kernel driver. The flaw stems from improper handling of insufficient permissions or privileges, which may allow an unprivileged local user to gain limited write access to protected memory regions. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to denial of service conditions on affected systems.

Critical Impact

An unprivileged local attacker can exploit improper permission handling in the NVIDIA kernel driver to write to protected memory, potentially causing system instability or denial of service.

Affected Products

• NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux
• NVIDIA GeForce
• NVIDIA Quadro
• NVIDIA RTX
• NVIDIA Tesla
• NVIDIA NVS
• NVIDIA Virtual GPU (vGPU)
• NVIDIA Cloud Gaming Guest
• Linux Kernel (in conjunction with NVIDIA drivers)

Discovery Timeline

• February 7, 2022 - CVE-2022-21813 published to NVD
• November 21, 2024 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2022-21813

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability exists within the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver kernel module for Linux systems. The core issue relates to improper access control (CWE-284) and improper handling of exceptional conditions (CWE-755) within the driver's permission validation logic.

When the kernel driver processes certain operations, it fails to properly enforce permission checks, allowing an unprivileged local user to perform limited write operations to memory regions that should be protected. This flaw represents an improper permissions handling vulnerability that can be leveraged by attackers with local access to the system.

The vulnerability requires local access to the system and low privileges to exploit. While it does not allow arbitrary code execution or information disclosure, the ability to write to protected memory can disrupt system operations and cause denial of service conditions, impacting the availability of GPU-accelerated workloads.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2022-21813 lies in the NVIDIA kernel driver's insufficient validation of user permissions before allowing memory operations. The driver fails to properly verify that the requesting process has appropriate privileges before granting write access to certain memory regions. This improper access control implementation (CWE-284) combined with inadequate exception handling (CWE-755) allows unprivileged users to bypass intended security restrictions.

Attack Vector

Exploitation of this vulnerability requires local access to a Linux system with an affected NVIDIA GPU driver installed. An attacker with a low-privileged user account can interact with the NVIDIA kernel driver through standard system interfaces to trigger the improper permission handling condition.

The attack does not require user interaction and can be executed without elevated privileges. Upon successful exploitation, the attacker gains limited write access to protected memory regions, which can be used to corrupt system state or driver data structures, ultimately leading to denial of service.

Since this vulnerability requires local access and only impacts availability (not confidentiality or integrity of data), the attack surface is limited to scenarios where an attacker already has some level of access to the target system.

Detection Methods for CVE-2022-21813

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected system crashes or kernel panics related to NVIDIA GPU driver operations
• Unusual memory access patterns or errors in system logs associated with the NVIDIA kernel module (nvidia.ko)
• GPU driver failures or abnormal behavior without apparent hardware issues
• System instability specifically during GPU-intensive workloads

Detection Strategies

• Monitor kernel logs (dmesg, /var/log/kern.log) for NVIDIA driver errors or memory-related warnings
• Implement host-based intrusion detection to identify suspicious interactions with NVIDIA driver interfaces
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect anomalous process behavior targeting GPU drivers
• Use SentinelOne's behavioral AI to identify unusual patterns of local privilege abuse targeting kernel modules

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for kernel module operations and GPU driver events
• Monitor for repeated failed permission checks or access denied events in driver logs
• Set up alerts for unexpected NVIDIA driver restarts or crashes
• Track user processes that interact with NVIDIA device files (/dev/nvidia*) for anomalous behavior

How to Mitigate CVE-2022-21813

Immediate Actions Required

• Update NVIDIA GPU Display Driver to the latest patched version immediately
• Review system logs for any signs of exploitation attempts
• Restrict local system access to trusted users only
• Implement the principle of least privilege for all user accounts on affected systems
• Consider temporarily disabling non-essential GPU functionality in high-security environments until patches are applied

Patch Information

NVIDIA has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Administrators should consult the NVIDIA Security Bulletin for specific patch versions and driver updates applicable to their GPU products.

Additionally, Linux distributions such as Gentoo have released advisories and patches. Refer to the Gentoo GLSA 202310-02 for distribution-specific guidance.

It is strongly recommended to apply vendor-provided patches through official channels and verify the integrity of downloaded driver packages before installation.

Workarounds

• Limit local system access to essential personnel and trusted users only
• Implement strict user account controls and monitor for unauthorized access attempts
• Use mandatory access control frameworks (SELinux, AppArmor) to restrict access to NVIDIA device files
• Consider running GPU workloads in isolated environments or containers where possible
• Monitor NVIDIA driver operations closely until patches can be applied

# Verify current NVIDIA driver version
nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv,noheader

# Check for available driver updates (Ubuntu/Debian example)
apt-cache policy nvidia-driver-*

# Restrict access to NVIDIA device files (temporary mitigation)
chmod 660 /dev/nvidia*
chown root:video /dev/nvidia*