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NVIDIA Hopper HGX Vulnerabilities 
Introduction
NVIDIA's Hopper HGX for 8-GPU is a high-performance computing platform designed for AI, data analytics, and scientific computing. However, like any complex system, it is not immune to vulnerabilities. Two recent CVEs, CVE-2024-0114 and CVE-2024-0141, highlight potential security risks that could compromise the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of the system. This article delves into these vulnerabilities, their implications, and sample scenarios to better understand their impact. ( Published: March 04, 2025 )
CVE-2024-0114: HMC Vulnerability in NVIDIA Hopper HGX
Overview
CVE-2024-0114 is a high-severity vulnerability (CVSS score: 8.1) affecting the HGX Management Controller (HMC) in NVIDIA's Hopper HGX for 8-GPU systems. The HMC is a critical component responsible for managing and monitoring the GPU resources in the system. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor with administrative access to the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) to escalate privileges and gain administrative access to the HMC.
Impact
A successful exploit of this vulnerability could lead to:
Code Execution: An attacker could execute arbitrary code on the HMC, potentially compromising the entire system.
Denial of Service (DoS): The attacker could disrupt the functionality of the HMC, rendering the GPU resources inaccessible.
Escalation of Privileges: The attacker could gain full control over the HMC, bypassing existing security measures.
Information Disclosure: Sensitive data stored or managed by the HMC could be exposed.
Data Tampering: The attacker could alter configurations or data, leading to system instability or incorrect results.
Sample Scenario
Imagine a data center running NVIDIA Hopper HGX systems for AI model training. A malicious insider with administrative access to the BMC (e.g., a disgruntled employee) exploits CVE-2024-0114 to gain administrative access to the HMC. Once inside, they:
Disable monitoring tools to avoid detection.
Inject malicious code into the HMC, which spreads to connected GPUs.
Exfiltrate sensitive training data or tamper with the AI models, causing financial and reputational damage to the organization.
Mitigation
Restrict administrative access to the BMC to only trusted personnel.
Apply patches or updates provided by NVIDIA as soon as they are available.
Implement network segmentation to isolate the BMC and HMC from untrusted networks.
Restrict administrative access to the BMC to only trusted personnel.
Apply patches or updates provided by NVIDIA as soon as they are available.
Implement network segmentation to isolate the BMC and HMC from untrusted networks.
CVE-2024-0141: GPU vBIOS Vulnerability in NVIDIA Hopper HGX
Overview
CVE-2024-0141 is a medium-severity vulnerability (CVSS score: 6.8) affecting the GPU vBIOS in NVIDIA's Hopper HGX for 8-GPU systems. The vBIOS is responsible for initializing and managing the GPU hardware. This vulnerability allows a malicious actor with tenant-level GPU access to write to an unsupported registry, potentially causing the GPU to enter a bad state.
Impact
A successful exploit of this vulnerability could lead to:
Denial of Service (DoS): The GPU could become unresponsive, disrupting workloads and causing downtime.
System Instability: The GPU's bad state could affect other components, leading to system-wide instability.
Sample Scenario
Consider a cloud service provider offering GPU-accelerated virtual machines (VMs) powered by NVIDIA Hopper HGX. A malicious tenant exploits CVE-2024-0141 to write to an unsupported registry in the GPU vBIOS. This action causes the GPU to enter a bad state, resulting in:
The GPU becoming unresponsive, causing the tenant's VM to crash.
Other tenants sharing the same GPU experiencing performance degradation or downtime.
The cloud provider facing service disruptions and potential financial losses due to SLA violations.
Mitigation
Limit tenant-level access to GPU registers and enforce strict access controls.
Monitor GPU behavior for unusual activity that could indicate an exploit attempt.
Apply firmware updates provided by NVIDIA to patch the vulnerability.
Limit tenant-level access to GPU registers and enforce strict access controls.
Monitor GPU behavior for unusual activity that could indicate an exploit attempt.
Apply firmware updates provided by NVIDIA to patch the vulnerability.
Conclusion
CVE-2024-0114 and CVE-2024-0141 highlight the importance of securing every layer of a high-performance computing system, from the management controllers to the GPU firmware. Organizations using NVIDIA Hopper HGX for 8-GPU systems should take proactive steps to mitigate these vulnerabilities, including applying patches, restricting access, and monitoring for suspicious activity. By understanding the risks and implementing robust security measures, organizations can protect their infrastructure and ensure the continued reliability of their GPU-accelerated workloads.
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