# CVE-2023-0189: Privilege escalation in vGPU software (guest driver - Linux), NVIDIA Cloud Gaming (guest driver - Linux)

> A vulnerability in the NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux kernel mode layer allows attackers to execute code, escalate privileges, cause denial of service, and access or modify data.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Apr 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2023-0189, GHSA-2ff5-j2jm-mwcq, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-0189

## What is CVE-2023-0189?

CVE-2023-0189 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nvidia Virtual Gpu, published on 1 Apr 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NVIDIA GPU Display Driver for Linux contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer handler which may lead to code execution, denial of service, escalation of privileges, information disclosure, and data tampering.

Weakness: CWE-822 (Untrusted Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-0189?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nvidia Virtual Gpu.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-0189?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-0189 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-0189 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nvidia Virtual Gpu

- [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)
- [CVE-2022-31609](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-31609/): Missing authorization in NVIDIA Virtual GPU Software and NVIDIA Cloud Gaming (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-0189 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-0189 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nvidia Virtual Gpu, published on 1 Apr 2023. 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-2023-0189 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-2023-0189/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0189/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-0189
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0189
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-0189

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0189/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.