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Mallory
CriticalPublic exploit

NVIDIAScape: Privilege Escalation in NVIDIA Container Toolkit

IdentifiersCVE-2025-23266CWE-426· Untrusted Search Path

CVE-2025-23266 is a critical vulnerability in NVIDIA Container Toolkit affecting all platforms. The issue is in certain hooks used during container initialization, where an attacker can influence execution in a way that results in arbitrary code execution with elevated permissions. Public reporting and vendor-derived advisory content describe this as an Untrusted Search Path issue in privileged container initialization hooks. Because these hooks run as part of NVIDIA container enablement for Docker, Kubernetes, and related environments, successful exploitation can cross container trust boundaries and has been described as a container escape/privilege escalation issue. The flaw has been referred to publicly as "NVIDIAScape."

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation can allow arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges in the context of the NVIDIA container initialization path. Reported consequences include privilege escalation, container escape to the host or broader node context, data tampering, information disclosure, and denial of service. In shared GPU environments, this may expose or enable manipulation of other tenants' sensitive data or proprietary AI models on the same hardware.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by restricting who can create or modify container images and container specifications that invoke NVIDIA container hooks; restrict write access to directories that may be searched or loaded by privileged hook execution paths; avoid writable PATH elements or other attacker-influenceable search locations for privileged components; and enforce least privilege on container runtime, Kubernetes node, and GPU workload administration to prevent attackers from controlling the hook execution context.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade to fixed versions identified in the provided advisory content: NVIDIA Container Toolkit 1.17.8 or later, NVIDIA k8s-device-plugin 0.17.3 or later, NVIDIA mig-parted 0.12.2 or later, and NVIDIA GPU Operator 25.3.2 or later. Apply the vendor security bulletin updates across all affected container and Kubernetes-integrated NVIDIA components, and ensure vulnerable hook implementations are replaced by the patched releases.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

3 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (2 hidden).

VALID 3 / 5 TOTALView more in app
cve-2025-23266-migration-bypassMaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository provides a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2025-23266, targeting Docker environments using the overlay2 storage driver on Linux. The exploit leverages LD_PRELOAD to execute a payload when a container is started. Two main attack methods are provided: 1. File Exfiltration: The primary payload (poc.c) copies the /flag file from the host into a directory accessible from within the container (/var/lib/docker/overlay2/*/merged/), allowing the attacker to retrieve sensitive files from the host system. 2. Reverse Shell: An alternative payload (poc.c_bak) establishes a reverse shell from the container to a remote host and port (hardcoded as 'test ip' and 50000), granting the attacker remote command execution capabilities. The repository includes a Dockerfile for building a container image with the malicious shared object (poc.so), a build script (build.sh) to compile the payload, and documentation in README.md describing the two attack methods. The exploit is operational, providing working payloads for both file exfiltration and remote shell access, but requires some manual configuration (e.g., setting the target IP for the reverse shell).

MindasyDisclosed Sep 4, 2025cbashlocal
CVE-2025-23266MaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository contains a fully weaponized exploit for CVE-2025-23266, targeting the NVIDIA Container Toolkit on Linux systems. The main exploit logic resides in evil.go, which is compiled as a C shared object (evil.so) using the provided Dockerfile. The exploit leverages LD_PRELOAD to execute code in the context of a container, joins the host's network namespace via /proc/1/ns/net, and establishes a reverse shell to an attacker-controlled IP and port (configurable via environment variables). The README provides a brief description and a reference link. The exploit is operational and provides a working reverse shell payload, making it a serious threat if deployed in vulnerable environments.

r0binakDisclosed Sep 2, 2025godockerfilelocal
cve-2025-23266-pocMaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository is a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2025-23266, a vulnerability in NVIDIA AI (NVIDIAScape). The repository contains a Go program (main.go) that is compiled as a C-shared library (poc.so) using the provided Dockerfile. The exploit leverages the LD_PRELOAD environment variable to inject the shared object into a process running with the NVIDIA runtime. When loaded, the exploit writes the hostname and current user information to a file named '/hacked', demonstrating successful code execution. The README provides instructions for building and running the exploit in a Docker container with NVIDIA GPU support. The exploit targets Linux systems with NVIDIA AI software and requires the NVIDIA runtime to be enabled. No network endpoints are involved; the attack vector is local privilege escalation or code execution via the NVIDIA runtime. The structure is simple, with clear separation between the exploit code, build instructions, and documentation.

jptsDisclosed Jul 19, 2025godockerfilelocal
EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
NvidiaGpu Operatorapplication
NvidiaK8s-Device-Pluginapplication
NvidiaMig-Partedapplication
NvidiaNvidia Container Toolkitapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Social activity34

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