Description

NVIDIA Infrastructure Controller for Linux contains a vulnerability where an attacker may cause uncontrolled resource consumption. A successful exploit of this vulnerability may lead to denial of service.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-22T15:17:11.777Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-22T15:17:11.777Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The NVIDIA Infrastructure Controller for Linux is susceptible to a vulnerability involving uncontrolled resource consumption, which can be leveraged to facilitate a denial of service (DoS) condition.\nThis vulnerability stems from improper resource management within the driver or controller stack, allowing an attacker to exhaust system resources such as memory, CPU cycles, or kernel handles.\nThe primary impact is the loss of availability for the affected system, potentially requiring a service restart or system reboot to restore normal operation.\nSuccessful exploitation allows an unprivileged or low-privileged attacker, depending on interface exposure, to disrupt the availability of the infrastructure controller.\nThe risk implication is significant for environments where the infrastructure controller serves as a critical management layer, as an adversary could destabilize host or network operations by triggering the consumption path.\nNo specific user interaction is required for the exploit, provided the attacker has access to the interface that interfaces with the vulnerable component.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides within the resource management logic of the NVIDIA Infrastructure Controller for Linux, which fails to adequately bound or sanitize requests that trigger significant resource allocation.\nThe root cause is identified as an improper handling of input sequences or operational commands that initiate persistent resource allocation without corresponding validation or cleanup mechanisms. This effectively leads to a state where the controller exhausts finite system resources, such as kernel memory buffers or processing threads, preventing the system from fulfilling subsequent valid requests.\nExploitation is achieved by transmitting a crafted sequence of commands or data packets that compel the controller to allocate resources repeatedly without returning them to the operating system's pool. Because the infrastructure controller operates at a level that necessitates high system privileges or kernel-space interaction, the exhausted resource is often one shared across the device driver stack, leading to a system-wide or driver-specific collapse.\nThe attack flow typically follows this sequence: 1) The attacker establishes communication with the Infrastructure Controller interface. 2) The attacker submits a series of malicious payloads that bypass existing input size or rate limits. 3) The target component attempts to parse and allocate internal buffers or synchronization objects based on these parameters. 4) Due to the lack of enforced limits, the component enters a recursive or iterative loop of unchecked resource allocation. 5) The operating system encounters memory pressure or resource starvation, resulting in the failure of the infrastructure service and a subsequent denial of service.\nAs the component is integrated into the Linux kernel stack for NVIDIA infrastructure components, the failure often manifests as a kernel panic or a permanent hang of the driver thread. This prevents the driver from communicating with hardware, effectively neutralizing the functionality managed by the Infrastructure Controller. There is no requirement for high-level application authentication if the interface is exposed to the local network or local user space, as the exploit targets the internal control plane logic rather than higher-level management protocols."
}