VDB-334707 · CVE-2023-53756 · EUVD-2023-60072

Linux Kernel up to 5.10.174/5.15.102/6.1.15/6.2.2 vmx_vcpu_create null pointer dereference

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4.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.174/5.15.102/6.1.15/6.2.2. Affected is the function vmx_vcpu_create. Performing a manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2023-53756. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.174/5.15.102/6.1.15/6.2.2. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function vmx_vcpu_create. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

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

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2023-53756 since 12/08/2025. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 319448 (EulerOS Virtualization 2.13.1 : kernel (EulerOS-SA-2026-2132)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.16 or 6.2.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 6baebcecf09acd19e2bab1c2911dcdba5d48a1dc/6e7bc50f97c9855da83f1478f722590defd45ff2/b2de2b4d4e007f9add46ea8dc06f781835e3ea9f/3ba95cc671c025d0d2a1c7d5e2930f0ff0980cf4/93827a0a36396f2fd6368a54a020f420c8916e9b is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (319448), EUVD (EUVD-2023-60072) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2756). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

Google Container-Optimized OS
Debian Linux
Amazon Linux 2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Ubuntu Linux
SUSE Linux
Oracle Linux
NetApp FAS
NetApp AFF
SUSE openSUSE
RESF Rocky Linux
Open Source Linux Kernel
Microsoft Azure Linux

Productinfo

Type

Operating System

Vendor

Linux

Name

Kernel

Version

License

open-source

Website

Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒