CVE-2023-53998 (GCVE-0-2023-53998)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-12-24 10:55 – Updated: 2026-05-11 19:53
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
hwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
hwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data
The virtio rng device kicks off a new entropy request whenever the
data available reaches zero. When a new request occurs at the end
of a read operation, that is, when the result of that request is
only needed by the next reader, then there is a race between the
writing of the new data and the next reader.
This is because there is no synchronisation whatsoever between the
writer and the reader.
Fix this by writing data_avail with smp_store_release and reading
it with smp_load_acquire when we first enter read. The subsequent
reads are safe because they're either protected by the first load
acquire, or by the completion mechanism.
Also remove the redundant zeroing of data_idx in random_recv_done
(data_idx must already be zero at this point) and data_avail in
request_entropy (ditto).
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
References
8 references
Impacted products
2 products
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < 241ef15776a7c8505008db689175b320d345ecd3
(git)
Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < a43bcb0b661cbbf3ad797d2aee6b6fd06b8fc69d (git) Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < 77471e4912d3960dafe141e268c44be8024fe4dc (git) Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < c76d991b6f01a5d931e7053a73bc9524975a5215 (git) Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < 22c30022cde6e2c88612b3a499223cfa912f1bc7 (git) Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < 318657b4c2077289659f1cd9e2a34f6a3b208e3e (git) Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < 2fc91f156b3f3446a1bce80cf4adedcbf41271c2 (git) Affected: f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 , < ac52578d6e8d300dd50f790f29a24169b1edd26c (git) |
guessed | |
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
2.6.26
Unaffected: 0 , < 2.6.26 (semver) Unaffected: 4.19.291 , ≤ 4.19.* (semver) Unaffected: 5.4.251 , ≤ 5.4.* (semver) Unaffected: 5.10.188 , ≤ 5.10.* (semver) Unaffected: 5.15.121 , ≤ 5.15.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.1.39 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.3.13 , ≤ 6.3.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.4.4 , ≤ 6.4.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.5 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix) |
guessed |
{
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{
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"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
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"status": "unaffected",
"version": "4.19.291",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.4.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.4.251",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.10.188",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.15.121",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.1.39",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.3.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.3.13",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.4.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.4.4",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.5",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"cpeApplicability": [
{
"nodes": [
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"vulnerable": true
},
{
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"versionEndExcluding": "5.4.251",
"versionStartIncluding": "2.6.26",
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},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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},
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{
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},
{
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"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nhwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data\n\nThe virtio rng device kicks off a new entropy request whenever the\ndata available reaches zero. When a new request occurs at the end\nof a read operation, that is, when the result of that request is\nonly needed by the next reader, then there is a race between the\nwriting of the new data and the next reader.\n\nThis is because there is no synchronisation whatsoever between the\nwriter and the reader.\n\nFix this by writing data_avail with smp_store_release and reading\nit with smp_load_acquire when we first enter read. The subsequent\nreads are safe because they\u0027re either protected by the first load\nacquire, or by the completion mechanism.\n\nAlso remove the redundant zeroing of data_idx in random_recv_done\n(data_idx must already be zero at this point) and data_avail in\nrequest_entropy (ditto)."
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-11T19:53:18.694Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
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{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/241ef15776a7c8505008db689175b320d345ecd3"
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{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a43bcb0b661cbbf3ad797d2aee6b6fd06b8fc69d"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77471e4912d3960dafe141e268c44be8024fe4dc"
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{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c76d991b6f01a5d931e7053a73bc9524975a5215"
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{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/22c30022cde6e2c88612b3a499223cfa912f1bc7"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/318657b4c2077289659f1cd9e2a34f6a3b208e3e"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fc91f156b3f3446a1bce80cf4adedcbf41271c2"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac52578d6e8d300dd50f790f29a24169b1edd26c"
}
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"title": "hwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data",
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"datePublished": "2025-12-24T10:55:34.856Z",
"dateReserved": "2025-12-24T10:53:46.176Z",
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"state": "PUBLISHED"
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"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nhwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data\n\nThe virtio rng device kicks off a new entropy request whenever the\ndata available reaches zero. When a new request occurs at the end\nof a read operation, that is, when the result of that request is\nonly needed by the next reader, then there is a race between the\nwriting of the new data and the next reader.\n\nThis is because there is no synchronisation whatsoever between the\nwriter and the reader.\n\nFix this by writing data_avail with smp_store_release and reading\nit with smp_load_acquire when we first enter read. The subsequent\nreads are safe because they\u0027re either protected by the first load\nacquire, or by the completion mechanism.\n\nAlso remove the redundant zeroing of data_idx in random_recv_done\n(data_idx must already be zero at this point) and data_avail in\nrequest_entropy (ditto)."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2023-53998",
"lastModified": "2026-06-17T06:46:30.587",
"metrics": {},
"published": "2025-12-24T11:15:52.703",
"references": [
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"sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"vulnStatus": "Deferred"
}
},
"redhat_vex": {
"aggregate_severity": "Low",
"current_release_date": "2026-11-07T11:10:40+00:00",
"cve": "CVE-2023-53998",
"id": "CVE-2023-53998",
"initial_release_date": "2023-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
"product_status:known_affected": "199",
"product_status:known_not_affected": "1",
"source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
"status": "final",
"title": "kernel: hwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data",
"url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2023/cve-2023-53998.json",
"version": "3"
}
}
}
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Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
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