# CVE-2023-54137: vfio/type1: fix cap_migration information leak

> Local attackers can read uninitialized kernel memory via VFIO ioctl, potentially exposing sensitive data.

- **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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54137, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54137, GHSA-78pw-r9wg-6p38, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54137

## What is CVE-2023-54137?

CVE-2023-54137 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:

vfio/type1: fix cap_migration information leak

Fix an information leak where an uninitialized hole in struct
vfio_iommu_type1_info_cap_migration on the stack is exposed to userspace.

The definition of struct vfio_iommu_type1_info_cap_migration contains a hole as
shown in this pahole(1) output:

  struct vfio_iommu_type1_info_cap_migration {
          struct vfio_info_cap_header header;              /*     0     8 */
          __u32                      flags;                /*     8     4 */

          /* XXX 4 bytes hole, try to pack */

          __u64                      pgsize_bitmap;        /*    16     8 */
          __u64                      max_dirty_bitmap_size; /*    24     8 */

          /* size: 32, cachelines: 1, members: 4 */
          /* sum members: 28, holes: 1, sum holes: 4 */
          /* last cacheline: 32 bytes */
  };

The cap_mig variable is filled in without initializing the hole:

  static int vfio_iommu_migration_build_caps(struct vfio_iommu *iommu,
                         struct vfio_info_cap *caps)
  {
      struct vfio_iommu_type1_info_cap_migration cap_mig;

      cap_mig.header.id = VFIO_IOMMU_TYPE1_INFO_CAP_MIGRATION;
      cap_mig.header.version = 1;

      cap_mig.flags = 0;
      /* support minimum pgsize */
      cap_mig.pgsize_bitmap = (size_t)1 << __ffs(iommu->pgsize_bitmap);
      cap_mig.max_dirty_bitmap_size = DIRTY_BITMAP_SIZE_MAX;

      return vfio_info_add_capability(caps, &cap_mig.header, sizeof(cap_mig));
  }

The structure is then copied to a temporary location on the heap. At this point
it's already too late and ioctl(VFIO_IOMMU_GET_INFO) copies it to userspace
later:

  int vfio_info_add_capability(struct vfio_info_cap *caps,
                   struct vfio_info_cap_header *cap, size_t size)
  {
      struct vfio_info_cap_header *header;

      header = vfio_info_cap_add(caps, size, cap->id, cap->version);
      if (IS_ERR(header))
          return PTR_ERR(header);

      memcpy(header + 1, cap + 1, size - sizeof(*header));

      return 0;
  }

This issue was found by code inspection.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54137?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54137?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54137 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54137 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54137 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54137 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-2023-54137 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-2023-54137/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54137/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54137
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54137
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54137

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54137/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.