# CVE-2026-53657: Lima: An arbitrary user in a QEMU VM could gain the root privilege in the VM via the guest agent socket

> An arbitrary user in a Lima QEMU VM can gain root privileges by accessing the guest agent socket, allowing execution of arbitrary commands.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2j9v-p4xj-cjw2, GO-2026-6230

## What is CVE-2026-53657?

CVE-2026-53657 is a high-severity vulnerability in lima-vm lima, published on 10 Jul 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Lima launches Linux virtual machines, typically on macOS, for running containerd. Prior to 2.1.3, on an instance of Lima running with the qemu driver, an arbitrary user in the VM could access /run/lima-guestagent.sock when the guest agent is enabled, which could result in running arbitrary commands with root privileges in the VM because the guest agent socket provides tunneling for arbitrary addresses, including Unix socket addresses for privileged daemons like D-Bus. This issue is fixed in version 2.1.3.

Weakness: CWE-668 (Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere), CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53657?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2 and github.com/lima-vm/lima.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.1.3 |
| `github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.1.3 |
| `github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2` | Go | All versions | 2.1.3 |
| `github.com/lima-vm/lima` | Go | All versions | None |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53657?

Upgrade github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2 to 2.1.3 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-53657 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53657 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-53657 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53657 is a high-severity vulnerability in lima-vm lima, published on 10 Jul 2026. 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-2026-53657 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.1.3
- github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.1.3
- github.com/lima-vm/lima/v2 (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 2.1.3
- github.com/lima-vm/lima (Go): affected all versions; no fix listed

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-2026-53657/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53657/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53657
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53657
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53657

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53657/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.