CVE-2023-53756

Host crash via stale per-CPU VMCS pointer

Published Dec 8, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Denial of service in Linux KVM allows local users to crash the host during virtual CPU creation in affected kernel branches. The evmcs_touch_msr_bitmap function repeatedly accesses an uninitialized per-CPU current_vmcs pointer without disabling preemption, allowing CPU migration to write through stale state. The path requires Linux to run as a nested Intel VMX hypervisor on Hyper-V with enlightened VMCS support; triggering it causes a kernel null-pointer dereference and host crash.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Linux KVM allows local users to crash the host during virtual CPU creation in affected kernel branches. The evmcs_touch_msr_bitmap function repeatedly accesses an uninitialized per-CPU current_vmcs pointer without disabling preemption, allowing CPU migration to write through stale state. The path requires Linux to run as a nested Intel VMX hypervisor on Hyper-V with enlightened VMCS support; triggering it causes a kernel null-pointer dereference and host crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53756
Published
Dec 8, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 8, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.18
  2. Affected versionversion=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <3ba95cc671c025d0d2a1c7d5e2930f0ff0980cf4
  3. Affected versionversion=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <6baebcecf09acd19e2bab1c2911dcdba5d48a1dc
  4. Affected versionversion=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <6e7bc50f97c9855da83f1478f722590defd45ff2
  5. Affected versionversion=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <93827a0a36396f2fd6368a54a020f420c8916e9b
  6. Affected versionversion=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <b2de2b4d4e007f9add46ea8dc06f781835e3ea9f

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.18; version=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <3ba95cc671c025d0d2a1c7d5e2930f0ff0980cf4; version=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <6baebcecf09acd19e2bab1c2911dcdba5d48a1dc; version=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <6e7bc50f97c9855da83f1478f722590defd45ff2; version=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <93827a0a36396f2fd6368a54a020f420c8916e9b; version=ceef7d10dfb6284d512c499292e6daa35ea83f90 <b2de2b4d4e007f9add46ea8dc06f781835e3ea9f

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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