# CVE-2023-54024: KVM: Destroy target device if coalesced MMIO unregistration fails

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's KVM module allows local attackers to cause denial of service by failing coalesced MMIO unregistration.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 24 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54024, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54024, GHSA-93rr-243g-pg85, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54024

## What is CVE-2023-54024?

CVE-2023-54024 is a memory corruption 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:

KVM: Destroy target device if coalesced MMIO unregistration fails

Destroy and free the target coalesced MMIO device if unregistering said
device fails.  As clearly noted in the code, kvm_io_bus_unregister_dev()
does not destroy the target device.

  BUG: memory leak
  unreferenced object 0xffff888112a54880 (size 64):
    comm "syz-executor.2", pid 5258, jiffies 4297861402 (age 14.129s)
    hex dump (first 32 bytes):
      38 c7 67 15 00 c9 ff ff 38 c7 67 15 00 c9 ff ff  8.g.....8.g.....
      e0 c7 e1 83 ff ff ff ff 00 30 67 15 00 c9 ff ff  .........0g.....
    backtrace:
      [<0000000006995a8a>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:556 [inline]
      [<0000000006995a8a>] kzalloc include/linux/slab.h:690 [inline]
      [<0000000006995a8a>] kvm_vm_ioctl_register_coalesced_mmio+0x8e/0x3d0 arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/coalesced_mmio.c:150
      [<00000000022550c2>] kvm_vm_ioctl+0x47d/0x1600 arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:3323
      [<000000008a75102f>] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:46 [inline]
      [<000000008a75102f>] file_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:509 [inline]
      [<000000008a75102f>] do_vfs_ioctl+0xbab/0x1160 fs/ioctl.c:696
      [<0000000080e3f669>] ksys_ioctl+0x76/0xa0 fs/ioctl.c:713
      [<0000000059ef4888>] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:720 [inline]
      [<0000000059ef4888>] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:718 [inline]
      [<0000000059ef4888>] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x6f/0xb0 fs/ioctl.c:718
      [<000000006444fa05>] do_syscall_64+0x9f/0x4e0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:290
      [<000000009a4ed50b>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x49/0xbe

  BUG: leak checking failed

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54024?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54024?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54024 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54024 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54024 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54024 is a memory corruption 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-2023-54024 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-2023-54024/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54024/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54024
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54024
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54024

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54024/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.