CVE-2023-54081

VM freeze via unbounded grant reclaim queue

Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Dec 24, 2025

Resource exhaustion in the Linux Xen grant-table reclaim path allows remote attackers to freeze a guest VM by retaining grant references. drivers/xen/grant-table.c repeatedly defers entries that a remote domain still maps, allowing the deferred list to grow without bound and exhaust memory. Exploitation requires a Xen interdomain protocol in which the remote side retains grant references; Qubes OS GUI traffic is the documented exposure.

CVSS severity6.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in the Linux Xen grant-table reclaim path allows remote attackers to freeze a guest VM by retaining grant references. drivers/xen/grant-table.c repeatedly defers entries that a remote domain still maps, allowing the deferred list to grow without bound and exhaust memory. Exploitation requires a Xen interdomain protocol in which the remote side retains grant references; Qubes OS GUI traffic is the documented exposure.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-54081
Published
Dec 24, 2025
Updated
Dec 24, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 24, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 24, 2025Record 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c04e9894846c663f3278a414f34416e6e45bbe68
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c76d96c555895ac602c1587b001e5cf656abc371
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cd1a8952ff529adc210e62306849fd6f256608c0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c04e9894846c663f3278a414f34416e6e45bbe68; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c76d96c555895ac602c1587b001e5cf656abc371; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cd1a8952ff529adc210e62306849fd6f256608c0

Published CVSS scores

6.2Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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