← Back to CVE Explorer

CVE-2023-53171

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfio/type1: prevent underflow of locked_vm via exec() When a vfio container is preserved across exec, the task does not change, but it gets a new mm with locked_vm=0, and loses the count from existing dma mappings. If the user later unmaps a dma mapping, locked_vm underflows to a large unsigned value, and a subsequent dma map request fails with ENOMEM in __account_locked_vm. To avoid underflow, grab and save the mm at the time a dma is mapped. Use that mm when adjusting locked_vm, rather than re-acquiring the saved task's mm, which may have changed. If the saved mm is dead, do nothing. locked_vm is incremented for existing mappings in a subsequent patch.

Severity
MEDIUM
CVSS score
5.5 (v3.1)
Vulnerability status
Analyzed
Source identifier
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Published
2025-09-15 14:15:38.940000
Last modified
2026-11-05 21:17:17.777000
View original CVE JSON 
{
  "id": "CVE-2023-53171",
  "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
  "published": "2025-09-15T14:15:38.940",
  "lastModified": "2026-11-05T21:17:17.777",
  "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nvfio/type1: prevent underflow of locked_vm via exec()\n\nWhen a vfio container is preserved across exec, the task does not change,\nbut it gets a new mm with locked_vm=0, and loses the count from existing\ndma mappings.  If the user later unmaps a dma mapping, locked_vm underflows\nto a large unsigned value, and a subsequent dma map request fails with\nENOMEM in __account_locked_vm.\n\nTo avoid underflow, grab and save the mm at the time a dma is mapped.\nUse that mm when adjusting locked_vm, rather than re-acquiring the saved\ntask's mm, which may have changed.  If the saved mm is dead, do nothing.\n\nlocked_vm is incremented for existing mappings in a subsequent patch."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "product": "Linux",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/vfio/vfio_iommu_type1.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "73fa0d10d077d9521ee2dace2307ae2c9a965336",
              "lessThan": "5a271242716846cc016736fb76be2b40ee49b0c3",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "73fa0d10d077d9521ee2dace2307ae2c9a965336",
              "lessThan": "eafb81c50da899dd80b340c841277acc4a1945b7",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "73fa0d10d077d9521ee2dace2307ae2c9a965336",
              "lessThan": "a6b2aabe664098d5cf877ae0fd96459464a30e17",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "73fa0d10d077d9521ee2dace2307ae2c9a965336",
              "lessThan": "b0790dff0760b7734cf0961f497ad64628ca550b",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "73fa0d10d077d9521ee2dace2307ae2c9a965336",
              "lessThan": "046eca5018f8a5dd1dc2cedf87fb5843b9ea3026",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "product": "Linux",
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/vfio/vfio_iommu_type1.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "3.6",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "0",
              "lessThan": "3.6",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "5.10.173",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "5.15.99",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "6.1.16",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "6.2.3",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.2.*",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "6.3",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix",
              "status": "unaffected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "source": "[email protected]",
        "type": "Primary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "3.1",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
          "baseScore": 5.5,
          "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
          "attackVector": "LOCAL",
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
        "impactScore": 3.6
      }
    ],
    "ssvcV203": [
      {
        "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
        "ssvcData": {
          "timestamp": "2026-11-05T20:19:31.308390Z",
          "id": "CVE-2023-53171",
          "options": [
            {
              "exploitation": "none"
            },
            {
              "automatable": "no"
            },
            {
              "technicalImpact": "partial"
            }
          ],
          "role": "CISA Coordinator",
          "version": "2.0.3"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "[email protected]",
      "type": "Primary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "NVD-CWE-noinfo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "operator": "OR",
          "negate": false,
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "vulnerable": true,
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "versionStartIncluding": "3.6",
              "versionEndExcluding": "5.10.173",
              "matchCriteriaId": "B3D65565-A7D5-494E-BE36-DE258E7C929A"
            },
            {
              "vulnerable": true,
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "versionStartIncluding": "5.11",
              "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.99",
              "matchCriteriaId": "5B8B2AC9-2F31-4A0F-96F5-7E26B50B27BB"
            },
            {
              "vulnerable": true,
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "versionStartIncluding": "5.16",
              "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.16",
              "matchCriteriaId": "0FD95FDA-6525-4B13-B3FB-49D9995FD8ED"
            },
            {
              "vulnerable": true,
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "versionStartIncluding": "6.2",
              "versionEndExcluding": "6.2.3",
              "matchCriteriaId": "88C67289-22AD-4CA9-B202-5F5A80E5BA4B"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/046eca5018f8a5dd1dc2cedf87fb5843b9ea3026",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a271242716846cc016736fb76be2b40ee49b0c3",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a6b2aabe664098d5cf877ae0fd96459464a30e17",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0790dff0760b7734cf0961f497ad64628ca550b",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ]
    },
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eafb81c50da899dd80b340c841277acc4a1945b7",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ]
    }
  ]
}