CVE-2023-53756

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

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-12-08
Last modified 2026-04-15
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.18 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.16, 6.2.3, 6.3 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.18
Fixed in
✓ 5.10.175 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.103 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.16 6.1.x ✓ 6.2.3 6.2.x ✓ 6.3

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2023-53756 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2023-53756?

    CVE-2023-53756 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.18 onward and has been patched in 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.16 and others. CVE-2023-53756 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2023-53756?

    Yes — CVE-2023-53756 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.16 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2023-53756 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2023-53756 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.