#VU85827 Improper synchronization in QEMU - CVE-2023-5088

Vulnerability identifier: #VU85827

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-5088

CWE-ID: CWE-662

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
QEMU
Client/Desktop applications / Virtualization software

Vendor: QEMU

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper synchronization, which causes guest I/O operation otherwise addressed to an arbitrary disk offset to be targeted to offset 0 instead. An L2 guest with a virtual disk (vdiskL2) stored on a virtual disk of an L1 (vdiskL1) hypervisor can read and/or write data to LBA 0 of vdiskL1, potentially gaining control of L1 at its next reboot.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

QEMU: All versions

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External links
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2247283
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5088
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20230921160712.99521-1-simon.rowe@nutanix.com/T/
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231208-0005/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.