CVE-2024-0127: NVIDIA vGPU Manager Privilege Escalation

CVE-2024-0127 Overview

CVE-2024-0127 affects the NVIDIA vGPU software, specifically the GPU kernel driver component of the vGPU Manager across all supported hypervisors. A user operating within the guest operating system can trigger improper input validation by first compromising the guest OS kernel. Successful exploitation can lead to code execution, privilege escalation, data tampering, denial of service, and information disclosure on the host-side vGPU Manager.

The weakness is classified as [CWE-20] Improper Input Validation. NVIDIA published a security advisory for this issue, and the CVE record was published on October 26, 2024.

Critical Impact
An attacker with guest OS kernel-level control can break vGPU isolation boundaries and achieve host-level code execution, privilege escalation, or disclosure of sensitive data across tenants.

Affected Products

NVIDIA vGPU software — GPU kernel driver (vGPU Manager)
All hypervisors supported by NVIDIA vGPU Manager
Guest operating systems running on affected vGPU deployments

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-26 - CVE-2024-0127 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-0127

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the GPU kernel driver that implements the vGPU Manager. The driver processes inputs originating from guest operating systems and fails to validate them properly before use. Because the vGPU Manager runs with high privilege on the host or hypervisor, mishandled inputs can corrupt internal state or influence host-side execution paths.

Exploitation requires an attacker to already hold kernel-level control inside the guest OS. From that position, the attacker crafts malformed requests or data structures that cross the guest-to-host trust boundary. The improper validation at the host side allows the attacker to influence execution, escalate privileges, tamper with data, or disrupt services on the host.

The impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability. In multi-tenant GPU virtualization environments, this undermines the isolation guarantees that vGPU is designed to provide between workloads sharing physical GPU hardware.

Root Cause

The root cause is [CWE-20] Improper Input Validation inside the vGPU Manager's GPU kernel driver. The driver trusts or insufficiently sanitizes data arriving from guest VMs, allowing attacker-controlled values to reach code paths that assume well-formed input.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local to the virtualized environment. The attacker must first compromise the guest OS kernel, for example through an unrelated local privilege escalation inside the guest. From the compromised guest kernel, the attacker interacts with the vGPU driver interface to deliver crafted inputs that trigger the flaw in the host-side vGPU Manager.

No synthetic exploit code is published for this issue. Refer to the NVIDIA Customer Support Answer for vendor-authored technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-0127

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected crashes, hangs, or restarts of the vGPU Manager or GPU kernel driver on the host
Guest VMs issuing anomalous or malformed requests to the vGPU control interface
Unexplained host-side privilege changes or new processes correlated with guest GPU activity
Hypervisor logs showing driver fault handlers triggered from vGPU code paths

Detection Strategies

Monitor host kernel and hypervisor logs for faults originating in NVIDIA vGPU Manager modules
Correlate guest-side kernel compromise indicators with subsequent host-side GPU driver anomalies
Baseline normal vGPU driver call patterns and alert on deviations from guest workloads
Track NVIDIA driver and vGPU Manager version strings across the fleet to detect unpatched hosts

Monitoring Recommendations

Centralize hypervisor, host kernel, and NVIDIA driver logs into a SIEM for cross-tenant correlation
Alert on guest OS kernel integrity violations in environments that share GPU hardware
Enable crash dump collection on hosts to capture evidence of vGPU Manager faults for forensic review

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-0127

Immediate Actions Required

Inventory all hosts running NVIDIA vGPU software and identify the installed vGPU Manager and guest driver versions
Apply the fixed vGPU software release referenced in the NVIDIA security advisory as soon as change windows allow
Harden guest operating systems to reduce the likelihood of the prerequisite kernel compromise
Restrict administrative access inside guest VMs to limit who can reach the GPU driver interface

Patch Information

NVIDIA has published fixed versions of vGPU software addressing CVE-2024-0127. Consult the NVIDIA Customer Support Answer for the specific vGPU Manager and guest driver versions that remediate the issue across each supported hypervisor. Upgrade both the host-side vGPU Manager and the matching guest drivers to maintain compatibility.

Workarounds

No vendor-supplied workaround replaces patching; apply the fixed vGPU software release
Reduce exposure by isolating sensitive workloads from untrusted tenants on shared GPU hosts
Enforce least privilege inside guest VMs and apply timely OS kernel updates to raise the bar for the required guest compromise

bash

# Verify installed NVIDIA vGPU Manager version on the host
nvidia-smi -q | grep -i "Driver Version\|vGPU"

# On supported hypervisors, list the vGPU host driver package
rpm -qa | grep -i nvidia-vgpu
dpkg -l | grep -i nvidia-vgpu