# CVE-2023-53998: hwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data

> A race condition in the Linux kernel virtio RNG driver allows attackers to read stale entropy data or cause service disruption.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-53998, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-53998, GHSA-g2vv-m9x5-457j, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-53998

## What is CVE-2023-53998?

CVE-2023-53998 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 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:

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).

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-53998?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-53998?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-53998 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-53998 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-53998 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-53998 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Dec 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-2023-53998 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: 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-2023-53998/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53998/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-53998
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-53998
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-53998

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-53998/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.