# CVE-2023-52842: virtio/vsock: Fix uninit-value in virtio_transport_recv_pkt()

> An uninitialized value bug in the Linux kernel's virtio vsock driver may allow local attackers to read sensitive kernel memory.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-52842, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-52842, GHSA-gw29-2hc7-pv7h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-52842

## What is CVE-2023-52842?

CVE-2023-52842 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

virtio/vsock: Fix uninit-value in virtio_transport_recv_pkt()

KMSAN reported the following uninit-value access issue:

=====================================================
BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in virtio_transport_recv_pkt+0x1dfb/0x26a0 net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:1421
 virtio_transport_recv_pkt+0x1dfb/0x26a0 net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:1421
 vsock_loopback_work+0x3bb/0x5a0 net/vmw_vsock/vsock_loopback.c:120
 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:2630 [inline]
 process_scheduled_works+0xff6/0x1e60 kernel/workqueue.c:2703
 worker_thread+0xeca/0x14d0 kernel/workqueue.c:2784
 kthread+0x3cc/0x520 kernel/kthread.c:388
 ret_from_fork+0x66/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147
 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:304

Uninit was stored to memory at:
 virtio_transport_space_update net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:1274 [inline]
 virtio_transport_recv_pkt+0x1ee8/0x26a0 net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:1415
 vsock_loopback_work+0x3bb/0x5a0 net/vmw_vsock/vsock_loopback.c:120
 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:2630 [inline]
 process_scheduled_works+0xff6/0x1e60 kernel/workqueue.c:2703
 worker_thread+0xeca/0x14d0 kernel/workqueue.c:2784
 kthread+0x3cc/0x520 kernel/kthread.c:388
 ret_from_fork+0x66/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147
 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:304

Uninit was created at:
 slab_post_alloc_hook+0x105/0xad0 mm/slab.h:767
 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3478 [inline]
 kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x5a2/0xaf0 mm/slub.c:3523
 kmalloc_reserve+0x13c/0x4a0 net/core/skbuff.c:559
 __alloc_skb+0x2fd/0x770 net/core/skbuff.c:650
 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1286 [inline]
 virtio_vsock_alloc_skb include/linux/virtio_vsock.h:66 [inline]
 virtio_transport_alloc_skb+0x90/0x11e0 net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:58
 virtio_transport_reset_no_sock net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:957 [inline]
 virtio_transport_recv_pkt+0x1279/0x26a0 net/vmw_vsock/virtio_transport_common.c:1387
 vsock_loopback_work+0x3bb/0x5a0 net/vmw_vsock/vsock_loopback.c:120
 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:2630 [inline]
 process_scheduled_works+0xff6/0x1e60 kernel/workqueue.c:2703
 worker_thread+0xeca/0x14d0 kernel/workqueue.c:2784
 kthread+0x3cc/0x520 kernel/kthread.c:388
 ret_from_fork+0x66/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147
 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:304

CPU: 1 PID: 10664 Comm: kworker/1:5 Not tainted 6.6.0-rc3-00146-g9f3ebbef746f #3
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.2-1.fc38 04/01/2014
Workqueue: vsock-loopback vsock_loopback_work
=====================================================

The following simple reproducer can cause the issue described above:

int main(void)
{
  int sock;
  struct sockaddr_vm addr = {
    .svm_family = AF_VSOCK,
    .svm_cid = VMADDR_CID_ANY,
    .svm_port = 1234,
  };

  sock = socket(AF_VSOCK, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
  connect(sock, (struct sockaddr *)&addr, sizeof(addr));
  return 0;
}

This issue occurs because the `buf_alloc` and `fwd_cnt` fields of the
`struct virtio_vsock_hdr` are not initialized when a new skb is allocated
in `virtio_transport_init_hdr()`. This patch resolves the issue by
initializing these fields during allocation.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52842?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52842?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-52842 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52842 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52842 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52842 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. 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-2023-52842 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2023-52842/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52842/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52842
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52842
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52842

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52842/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.