# CVE-2023-53259: VMCI: check context->notify_page after call to get_user_pages_fast() to avoid GPF

> A missing null check in the Linux kernel VMCI driver allows a local attacker to trigger a general protection fault, causing a system crash.

- **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:** 15 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53259, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53259, GHSA-jg4p-q5hx-rqgr, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2023-53259, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53259

## What is CVE-2023-53259?

CVE-2023-53259 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 15 Sep 2025. 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:

VMCI: check context->notify_page after call to get_user_pages_fast() to avoid GPF

The call to get_user_pages_fast() in vmci_host_setup_notify() can return
NULL context->notify_page causing a GPF. To avoid GPF check if
context->notify_page == NULL and return error if so.

general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address
    0xe0009d1000000060: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN NOPTI
KASAN: maybe wild-memory-access in range [0x0005088000000300-
    0x0005088000000307]
CPU: 2 PID: 26180 Comm: repro_34802241 Not tainted 6.1.0-rc4 #1
Hardware name: Red Hat KVM, BIOS 1.15.0-2.module+el8.6.0 04/01/2014
RIP: 0010:vmci_ctx_check_signal_notify+0x91/0xe0
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 vmci_host_unlocked_ioctl+0x362/0x1f40
 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x1a1/0x230
 do_syscall_64+0x3a/0x90
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53259?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53259?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53259 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53259 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53259 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53259 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 15 Sep 2025. 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-2023-53259 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian 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-2023-53259/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53259/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53259
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53259
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53259

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53259/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.