# CVE-2023-53319: KVM: arm64: Handle kvm_arm_init failure correctly in finalize_pkvm

> A race condition in Linux kernel KVM initialization can cause a kernel panic and system crash if hypervisor initialization fails.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 16 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53319, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53319, GHSA-cch5-3fv5-qh9h, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53319

## What is CVE-2023-53319?

CVE-2023-53319 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 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:

KVM: arm64: Handle kvm_arm_init failure correctly in finalize_pkvm

Currently there is no synchronisation between finalize_pkvm() and
kvm_arm_init() initcalls. The finalize_pkvm() proceeds happily even if
kvm_arm_init() fails resulting in the following warning on all the CPUs
and eventually a HYP panic:

  | kvm [1]: IPA Size Limit: 48 bits
  | kvm [1]: Failed to init hyp memory protection
  | kvm [1]: error initializing Hyp mode: -22
  |
  | <snip>
  |
  | WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 0 at arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c:226 _kvm_host_prot_finalize+0x30/0x50
  | Modules linked in:
  | CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.4.0 #237
  | Hardware name: FVP Base RevC (DT)
  | pstate: 634020c5 (nZCv daIF +PAN -UAO +TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)
  | pc : _kvm_host_prot_finalize+0x30/0x50
  | lr : __flush_smp_call_function_queue+0xd8/0x230
  |
  | Call trace:
  |  _kvm_host_prot_finalize+0x3c/0x50
  |  on_each_cpu_cond_mask+0x3c/0x6c
  |  pkvm_drop_host_privileges+0x4c/0x78
  |  finalize_pkvm+0x3c/0x5c
  |  do_one_initcall+0xcc/0x240
  |  do_initcall_level+0x8c/0xac
  |  do_initcalls+0x54/0x94
  |  do_basic_setup+0x1c/0x28
  |  kernel_init_freeable+0x100/0x16c
  |  kernel_init+0x20/0x1a0
  |  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
  | Failed to finalize Hyp protection: -22
  |     dtb=fvp-base-revc.dtb
  | kvm [95]: nVHE hyp BUG at: arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/mem_protect.c:540!
  | kvm [95]: nVHE call trace:
  | kvm [95]:  [<ffff800081052984>] __kvm_nvhe_hyp_panic+0xac/0xf8
  | kvm [95]:  [<ffff800081059644>] __kvm_nvhe_handle_host_mem_abort+0x1a0/0x2ac
  | kvm [95]:  [<ffff80008105511c>] __kvm_nvhe_handle_trap+0x4c/0x160
  | kvm [95]:  [<ffff8000810540fc>] __kvm_nvhe___skip_pauth_save+0x4/0x4
  | kvm [95]: ---[ end nVHE call trace ]---
  | kvm [95]: Hyp Offset: 0xfffe8db00ffa0000
  | Kernel panic - not syncing: HYP panic:
  | PS:a34023c9 PC:0000f250710b973c ESR:00000000f2000800
  | FAR:ffff000800cb00d0 HPFAR:000000000880cb00 PAR:0000000000000000
  | VCPU:0000000000000000
  | CPU: 3 PID: 95 Comm: kworker/u16:2 Tainted: G        W          6.4.0 #237
  | Hardware name: FVP Base RevC (DT)
  | Workqueue: rpciod rpc_async_schedule
  | Call trace:
  |  dump_backtrace+0xec/0x108
  |  show_stack+0x18/0x2c
  |  dump_stack_lvl+0x50/0x68
  |  dump_stack+0x18/0x24
  |  panic+0x138/0x33c
  |  nvhe_hyp_panic_handler+0x100/0x184
  |  new_slab+0x23c/0x54c
  |  ___slab_alloc+0x3e4/0x770
  |  kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x1f0/0x278
  |  __alloc_skb+0xdc/0x294
  |  tcp_stream_alloc_skb+0x2c/0xf0
  |  tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x3d0/0xda4
  |  tcp_sendmsg+0x38/0x5c
  |  inet_sendmsg+0x44/0x60
  |  sock_sendmsg+0x1c/0x34
  |  xprt_sock_sendmsg+0xdc/0x274
  |  xs_tcp_send_request+0x1ac/0x28c
  |  xprt_transmit+0xcc/0x300
  |  call_transmit+0x78/0x90
  |  __rpc_execute+0x114/0x3d8
  |  rpc_async_schedule+0x28/0x48
  |  process_one_work+0x1d8/0x314
  |  worker_thread+0x248/0x474
  |  kthread+0xfc/0x184
  |  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
  | SMP: stopping secondary CPUs
  | Kernel Offset: 0x57c5cb460000 from 0xffff800080000000
  | PHYS_OFFSET: 0x80000000
  | CPU features: 0x00000000,1035b7a3,ccfe773f
  | Memory Limit: none
  | ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: HYP panic:
  | PS:a34023c9 PC:0000f250710b973c ESR:00000000f2000800
  | FAR:ffff000800cb00d0 HPFAR:000000000880cb00 PAR:0000000000000000
  | VCPU:0000000000000000 ]---

Fix it by checking for the successfull initialisation of kvm_arm_init()
in finalize_pkvm() before proceeding any futher.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53319?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-53319?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53319 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53319 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-2023-53319 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53319 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 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-2023-53319 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-2023-53319/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53319/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53319
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53319
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53319

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53319/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.