CVE-2026-24168: NVIDIA UFM Enterprise RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2026-24168 Overview

NVIDIA UFM Enterprise contains a command injection vulnerability in the IBDiagnet API. An authenticated attacker with administrative privileges can send crafted API requests to inject operating system commands. Successful exploitation may lead to arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, and information disclosure on the affected UFM management appliance.

The flaw is tracked as CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command. The attack vector is adjacent network, meaning an attacker must be positioned on the same logical network segment as the UFM Enterprise management interface.

Critical Impact
An authenticated administrator on the adjacent network can achieve code execution on the UFM Enterprise host, gaining control over InfiniBand fabric management and any credentials or fabric telemetry stored on the appliance.

Affected Products

NVIDIA UFM Enterprise (Unified Fabric Manager)
IBDiagnet API component of UFM Enterprise
Refer to the NVIDIA product security advisory for exact affected versions

Discovery Timeline

2026-08-25 - CVE-2026-24168 published to NVD
2026-08-25 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-24168

Vulnerability Analysis

NVIDIA Unified Fabric Manager (UFM) Enterprise is the management platform for InfiniBand fabrics used in high-performance computing and AI clusters. The IBDiagnet API exposes fabric diagnostic operations that ultimately invoke the underlying ibdiagnet utility on the host.

The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of special characters in one or more API request parameters that are passed to a shell or command interpreter. An authenticated administrator can submit crafted input that breaks out of the intended argument context and executes attacker-controlled operating system commands.

Because UFM Enterprise typically runs with elevated privileges to manage fabric daemons and system-level diagnostics, injected commands inherit those privileges. This allows attackers to read sensitive configuration, extract credentials for the InfiniBand fabric, tamper with telemetry, or pivot deeper into the management network.

Root Cause

The root cause is an unsanitized parameter passed from the IBDiagnet API handler into a system command invocation. Metacharacters such as ;, |, &, backticks, and $() are not stripped or escaped before the value reaches the shell. This is a classic [CWE-77] command injection pattern.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires two prerequisites: valid administrative credentials for UFM Enterprise, and network reachability on the adjacent network segment hosting the management interface. The attacker authenticates to the API, then issues a crafted HTTP request to an IBDiagnet endpoint with a parameter containing a command separator followed by an injected payload. The UFM backend executes the concatenated string and returns output that may include the injected command's results. See the NVIDIA advisory 5809 for confirmed endpoints and parameters.

No verified public proof-of-concept code is available at this time. The EPSS model estimates a 2.791% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-24168

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by the UFM Enterprise service account, particularly shell interpreters (sh, bash) or utilities such as curl, wget, nc, or python.
IBDiagnet API request bodies or query parameters containing shell metacharacters such as ;, |, &&, backticks, or $(...).
New or modified files under UFM working directories, cron entries, or SSH authorized_keys on the UFM host.
Outbound network connections from the UFM appliance to unfamiliar external hosts.

Detection Strategies

Enable and centralize UFM Enterprise API access logs, then alert on requests to IBDiagnet endpoints containing shell metacharacters.
Deploy host-based process monitoring on the UFM appliance to flag command-injection process ancestry patterns (API service → shell → arbitrary binary).
Correlate administrative logins with subsequent IBDiagnet API calls to identify anomalous session behavior.

Monitoring Recommendations

Ship UFM syslog and API audit logs to a centralized SIEM or data lake for retention and query.
Baseline expected IBDiagnet API usage and alert on deviations in parameter length, character sets, or endpoint frequency.
Monitor administrative account authentication sources and flag logins from unusual adjacent-network hosts.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-24168

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fixed UFM Enterprise release identified in NVIDIA advisory 5809 as soon as it is available in your maintenance window.
Restrict network access to the UFM management interface to a dedicated, isolated management VLAN.
Rotate administrative credentials for UFM Enterprise and any accounts that share those credentials.
Audit recent IBDiagnet API activity for signs of injected payloads or anomalous administrator behavior.

Patch Information

NVIDIA has published details of the fix under product security advisory 5809. Consult the advisory for the specific fixed versions of UFM Enterprise and upgrade guidance. Cross-reference the NVD entry for CVE-2026-24168 and the CVE.org record for authoritative metadata.

Workarounds

Limit administrative account membership on UFM Enterprise to the minimum set of operators required, reducing the population that can meet the exploitation precondition.
Enforce network segmentation so that only jump hosts on a hardened management segment can reach the UFM API.
Require multi-factor authentication in front of the UFM administrative interface via an upstream reverse proxy or bastion.
Where operational tolerance allows, temporarily disable or firewall the IBDiagnet API endpoints until the patch is applied.

bash

# Example: restrict UFM management API to a specific management subnet
# Replace 10.10.0.0/24 with your management network and eth0 with the UFM interface
iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 8443 -s 10.10.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp --dport 8443 -j DROP