Preface: An “intelligent” computer uses AI to think like a human and perform tasks on its own. Machine learning is how a computer system develops its intelligence. One way to train a computer to mimic human reasoning is to use a neural network, which is a series of algorithms that are modeled after the human brain.

Quote: A GPU devotes more transistors to arithmetic logic than a CPU does to caching and flow control. As of 2022, the highest transistor count GPU is Nvidia’s H100, built on TSMC’s N4 process and totalling 80 billion MOSFETs.

Background: The Intelligent Platform Management Interface, or IPMI, is a standard for controlling intelligent devices that monitor a system. To use this, you need an interface to an IPMI controller in your system (called a Baseboard Management Controller – BMC) and management software that can use the IPMI system.

Under normal circumstance, you must pick ‘IPMI top-level message handler’ to use IPMI. The message handler does not provide any user-level interfaces. Kernel code (like the watchdog) can still use it. If you need access from userland, you need to select ‘Device interface for IPMI’ if you want access through a device driver.

The Linux IPMI driver is modular. This driver is for supporting a system that sits on an IPMB bus; it allows the interface to look like a normal IPMI interface. Sending system interface addressed messages to it will cause the message to go to the registered BMC on the system (default at IPMI address 0x20).

Vulnerability details: NVIDIA baseboard management controller (BMC) contains a vulnerability in the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) handler, where an attacker with the required privileges can cause a buffer overflow, which may lead to denial of service or code execution.

Official announcement: For official details see the link – https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5435

NVIDIA recommends that customers follow best security practices for BMC management (IPMIport). These include, but are not limited to, such measures as:

• Restricting the DGX A100 IPMI port to an isolated, dedicated management network.
• Using a separate, firewalled subnet.
• Configuring a separate VLAN for BMC traffic if a dedicated network is not available.