# CVE-2018-10853: Privilege escalation in kernel

> An unprivileged guest user can escalate privileges within the guest OS due to missing privilege checks in KVM instruction emulation.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Sep 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-10853, GHSA-vhcx-55j8-pv9c, SUSE-SU-2018:2684-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-10853

## What is CVE-2018-10853?

CVE-2018-10853 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 11 Sep 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in the way Linux kernel KVM hypervisor before 4.18 emulated instructions such as sgdt/sidt/fxsave/fxrstor. It did not check current privilege(CPL) level while emulating unprivileged instructions. An unprivileged guest user/process could use this flaw to potentially escalate privileges inside guest.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-10853?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP1_Update_30` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 2-2.1 |
| `kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP2_Update_24` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 2-2.1 |
| `kgraft-patch-SLE12_Update_37` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS | All versions | 2-2.1 |
| `kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP1_Update_30` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | All versions | 2-2.1 |
| `kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP2_Update_24` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 2-2.1 |

Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-10853?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2018-10853 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-10853 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-10853 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-10853 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 11 Sep 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-10853 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10853/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10853/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-10853
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-10853
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-10853

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-10853/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.