Qemu: improper ide controller reset can lead to mbr overwrite
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
A bug in QEMU could cause a guest I/O operation otherwise addressed to an arbitrary disk offset to be targeted to offset 0 instead (potentially overwriting the VM's boot code). This could be used, for example, by L2 guests with a virtual disk (vdiskL2) stored on a virtual disk of an L1 (vdiskL1) hypervisor to read and/or write data to LBA 0 of vdiskL1, potentially gaining control of L1 at its next reboot.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | 8100020240314161907.e155f54d | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | 8100020240314161907.e155f54d | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | 17:8.2.0-11.el9_4 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Advanced Virtualization | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 8100020240314161907.e155f54d Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 8100020240314161907.e155f54d Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 17:8.2.0-11.el9_4 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Advanced Virtualization VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 8.2.0 | Vulnerable | QEMU |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:advanced_virtualization:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
- cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 8.2.0 Vulnerable ·QEMU
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:advanced_virtualization:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
Remediation
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2024:2962 Released 2024-05-22 · Red Hat rating Moderatevirt:rhel and virt-devel:rhel security and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) SLOF-20210217-2.module+el8.10.0+20141+6faa2812.noarch::virt:rhel, SLOF-20210217-2.module+el8.10.0+20141+6faa2812.src::virt:rhel, hivex-1.3.18-23.module+el8.9.0+18724+20190c23.aarch64::virt:rhel +47
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) SLOF-20210217-2.module+el8.10.0+20141+6faa2812.src::virt-devel:rhel, hivex-1.3.18-23.module+el8.9.0+18724+20190c23.i686::virt-devel:rhel, hivex-devel-1.3.18-23.module+el8.9.0+18724+20190c23.i686::virt-devel:rhel +47
- RHSA-2024:2135 Released 2024-04-30 · Red Hat rating Moderateqemu-kvm security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) qemu-guest-agent-17:8.2.0-11.el9_4, qemu-img-17:8.2.0-11.el9_4, qemu-kvm-17:8.2.0-11.el9_4 +17
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Advanced Virtualization | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2962 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2135 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:2962 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-5088
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-9627-hqj3-f64h
References
More Red Hat Enterprise Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-08259 Underflow in PHP-FPM can lead to RCE KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-10530 Code injection in [UNKNOWN] RichFaces KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-05975 GNU Bash through 4.3 bash43-025 processes trailing strings after certain malformed… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-05157 GNU Bash through 4.3 processes trailing strings after function definitions in the values… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-23530 Sudo before 1.9.17p1 allows local users to obtain root access because /etc/nsswitch.conf… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2021-17490 mod_proxy SSRF KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.0
Sources
- CVE-2023-5088 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-5088 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-9627-hqj3-f64h · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-5088 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences