CVE-2021-1118

Host privilege escalation via guest-initiated operations

Published Oct 29, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper privilege management in NVIDIA vGPU Software before 13.1, 12.4, 11.6, or 8.9 allows guest OS users to invoke privileged host operations. The Virtual GPU Manager plugin accepts guest-originated requests that invoke privileged operations, but NVIDIA has not disclosed the affected interface or the missing authorization check. Low-privileged access inside a guest with an assigned vGPU is required; successful exploitation can expose or alter host data, elevate privileges, or interrupt service.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.38%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in NVIDIA vGPU Software before 13.1, 12.4, 11.6, or 8.9 allows guest OS users to invoke privileged host operations. The Virtual GPU Manager plugin accepts guest-originated requests that invoke privileged operations, but NVIDIA has not disclosed the affected interface or the missing authorization check. Low-privileged access inside a guest with an assigned vGPU is required; successful exploitation can expose or alter host data, elevate privileges, or interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-1118
Published
Oct 29, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
NVIDIA
Product
NVIDIA vGPU Software
Classifications
CWE-269, CWE-250, T1611
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 29, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=vGPU version 13.x (prior to 13.1), 12.x (prior to 12.4), version 11.x (prior to 11.6) and version 8.x (prior 8.9).

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

NVIDIA · NVIDIA vGPU Softwareversion=vGPU version 13.x (prior to 13.1), 12.x (prior to 12.4), version 11.x (prior to 11.6) and version 8.x (prior 8.9).

Published CVSS scores

4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.8NVIDIA CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
T1611Escape to Host

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo