# CVE-2021-1120: Null dereference in NVIDIA Virtual GPU Software

> A missing null terminator in NVIDIA vGPU software allows guest OS attackers to cause information disclosure, data tampering, code execution, or denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Oct 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jfx5-hxw2-q274

## What is CVE-2021-1120?

CVE-2021-1120 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nvidia Virtual Gpu, published on 29 Oct 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NVIDIA vGPU software contains a vulnerability in the Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin), where a string provided by the guest OS may not be properly null terminated. The guest OS or attacker has no ability to push content to the plugin through this vulnerability, which may lead to information disclosure, data tampering, unauthorized code execution, and denial of service.

Weakness: CWE-170 (Improper Null Termination)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-1120?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nvidia Virtual Gpu.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-1120?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-1120 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-1120 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1120 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nvidia Virtual Gpu

- [CVE-2023-0189](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0189/): Privilege escalation in vGPU software (guest driver - Linux), NVIDIA Cloud Gaming (guest driver - Linux) (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-31027](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31027/): CVE (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2023-31017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31017/): CVE (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-31019](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-31019/): CVE (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-0182](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0182/): Memory corruption in vGPU software (guest driver - Windows), NVIDIA Cloud Gaming (guest driver - Windows) (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-1120 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-1120 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nvidia Virtual Gpu, published on 29 Oct 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-1120 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nvidia Virtual Gpu. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1120/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1120/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-1120
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-1120
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-1120

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-1120/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.