Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessSend crafted API request selecting DeepStream backend
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DeliveryInitialize process-wide GPU decode pool
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ExploitSubmit pixel-limit-bypassing video payload
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ExecutionSaturate shared decode pool with concurrent requests
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ImpactDegrade availability for legitimate inference workloads
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource consumption limits
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the vllm[deepstream] optional dependency (nvidia-deepstream-videodecode-cu13) to be explicitly installed on the server - it is not part of any default vLLM installation. The server must be running on Linux x86-64 with NVIDIA GPU hardware, CUDA 13 libraries, and system GStreamer packages present. The attacker must be able to submit inference requests to the vLLM API; no authentication is required (PR:N per the provided CVSS 4.0 vector). The DeepStream backend is selectable per-request via the media-io-kwargs API parameter without any server-side pre-configuration, which is the mechanism enabling unauthenticated backend activation. Exploitation is bounded to partial denial of service affecting concurrent video inference; no code execution, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration is possible. Default vLLM deployments without the deepstream extra are entirely unaffected. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.0 score of 6.9 with vector AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VA:L reflects a low-complexity, unauthenticated network attack with partial availability impact only. Real-world risk is moderate: the impact is degradation of concurrent inference throughput rather than full service outage, data exfiltration, or code execution, keeping this well below critical tiers. There is no CISA KEV listing and no known public exploit code, so exploitation remains theoretical at time of analysis. EPSS data was not provided in the input, leaving exploitation probability unquantifiable from available signals. The primary risk amplifier is the zero-prerequisites attack condition - no authentication, no special server configuration, and no prior foothold required - meaning any internet-exposed vLLM endpoint with the deepstream optional dependency installed is theoretically reachable. However, the DeepStream dependency is not installed by default, materially narrowing the real-world exposed population. Operators running vLLM in AI inference pipelines where availability SLAs matter should prioritize the upgrade to 0.27.0 but need not treat this as an emergency break-glass response. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with unauthenticated network access to a vLLM API endpoint where the deepstream optional dependency is installed submits a crafted multimodal inference request specifying the DeepStream backend via the media-io-kwargs parameter, triggering lazy initialization of the process-wide GPU decode pool and submitting oversized or resource-intensive video content that bypasses pixel-limit controls. By issuing concurrent requests of this type, the attacker saturates the shared singleton decode pool, causing partial availability degradation for legitimate concurrent inference requests. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 25, 2026
Remote denial-of-service in vLLM before 0.27.0 allows unauthenticated network attackers to activate the DeepStream GPU video-decode backend per-request, initialize the process-wide GPU decode pool, and submit video content that bypasses pixel-limit enforcement, causing partial availability loss for concurrent inference requests. The root cause is vLLM's failure to classify DeepStream as a GPU backend subject to resource controls combined with an omitted pixel-limit check in the DeepStream decode path (CWE-400). No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and this vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to vLLM 0.27.0 or later, which adds pixel-limit enforcement to the DeepStream decode path and correctly registers DeepStream as a GPU backend subject to resource controls; the upstream fix is at commit e23b19309b8705b21c3b3ff4129c9974ba15a419 (https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/commit/e23b19309b8705b21c3b3ff4129c9974ba15a419). For operators unable to upgrade immediately, the most effective workaround is to uninstall the DeepStream optional dependency (pip uninstall nvidia-deepstream-videodecode-cu13), which eliminates the vulnerable code path entirely at the cost of falling back to CPU-based video decoding - a meaningful throughput trade-off for GPU-accelerated video inference workloads. As a secondary control, restrict network access to the vLLM API endpoint to authenticated or trusted clients via an API gateway or firewall, preventing unauthenticated request submission and eliminating the PR:N exploitation condition. The VulnCheck advisory is at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vllm-before-denial-of-service-via-deepstream-backend.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in pypi
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
vLLM is an open-source LLM inference engine supporting multimodal inputs including video. Its optional DeepStream backend uses NVIDIA NVDEC GPU-accelerated video decoding via GStreamer pipelines, implemented through the nvidia-deepstream-videodecode-cu13 package. The backend maintains a process-wide singleton decode pool (DeepStreamVideoBackendMixin._pool), lazily initialized on first use and shared across all concurrent requests. CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) applies because vLLM omitted the pixel-limit enforcement present in other video backends (OpenCV/PyAV) from the DeepStream code path, and the resource control classification logic did not account for DeepStream as a GPU consumer. The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:vllm-project:vllm:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* for all versions before 0.27.0. The per-request backend selection mechanism - accepting backend choice via media-io-kwargs in the API request body - is the exposure vector that allows unauthenticated callers to trigger the vulnerable code path.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Network vector, no authentication required per PR:N in source CVSS 4.0; impact is partial availability only with no confidentiality or integrity breach.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
DescriptionCVE.org
vLLM before 0.27.0 fails to properly classify DeepStream as a GPU backend and omits pixel-limit enforcement in its decode path. Unauthenticated attackers can activate DeepStream at request time to initialize the process-wide GPU decode pool and submit video that bypasses resource controls, causing partial denial of service for concurrent requests.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
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EUVD-2026-65457
GHSA-hw36-j4q7-vjxx
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
Exploit-DB