CVE-2023-53756
- Published: 2025-12-08T02:15:51.243
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: VMX: Fix crash due to uninitialized current_vmcs
KVM enables ‘Enlightened VMCS’ and ‘Enlightened MSR Bitmap’ when running as
a nested hypervisor on top of Hyper-V. When MSR bitmap is updated,
evmcs_touch_msr_bitmap function uses current_vmcs per-cpu variable to mark
that the msr bitmap was changed.
vmx_vcpu_create() modifies the msr bitmap via vmx_disable_intercept_for_msr
-> vmx_msr_bitmap_l01_changed which in the end calls this function. The
function checks for current_vmcs if it is null but the check is
insufficient because current_vmcs is not initialized. Because of this, the
code might incorrectly write to the structure pointed by current_vmcs value
left by another task. Preemption is not disabled, the current task can be
preempted and moved to another CPU while current_vmcs is accessed multiple
times from evmcs_touch_msr_bitmap() which leads to crash.
The manipulation of MSR bitmaps by callers happens only for vmcs01 so the
solution is to use vmx->vmcs01.vmcs instead of current_vmcs.
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000338
PGD 4e1775067 P4D 0
Oops: 0002 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
…
RIP: 0010:vmx_msr_bitmap_l01_changed+0x39/0x50 [kvm_intel]
…
Call Trace:
vmx_disable_intercept_for_msr+0x36/0x260 [kvm_intel]
vmx_vcpu_create+0xe6/0x540 [kvm_intel]
kvm_arch_vcpu_create+0x1d1/0x2e0 [kvm]
kvm_vm_ioctl_create_vcpu+0x178/0x430 [kvm]
kvm_vm_ioctl+0x53f/0x790 [kvm]
__x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xc0
do_syscall_64+0x5c/0x90
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
Related CVE by CWE
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How to fix CVE-2023-53756
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: VMX: Fix crash due to uninitialized current_vmcs KVM enables ‘Enlightened VMCS’ and ‘Enlightened MSR Bitmap’ when running as a nested hypervisor on top of Hyper-V. When MSR bitmap is updated, evmcs_touch_msr_bitmap function uses current_vmcs per-cpu variable to mark that the msr bitmap was changed. […]
Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
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CVE details first published to NVD database
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Detection Rules & IOCs
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No vendor/product data available.