Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

vfio/type1: prevent underflow of locked_vm via exec()

When a vfio container is preserved across exec, the task does not change,
but it gets a new mm with locked_vm=0, and loses the count from existing
dma mappings. If the user later unmaps a dma mapping, locked_vm underflows
to a large unsigned value, and a subsequent dma map request fails with
ENOMEM in __account_locked_vm.

To avoid underflow, grab and save the mm at the time a dma is mapped.
Use that mm when adjusting locked_vm, rather than re-acquiring the saved
task's mm, which may have changed. If the saved mm is dead, do nothing.

locked_vm is incremented for existing mappings in a subsequent patch.
Published: 2025-09-15
Score: 5.5 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Advisories
Source ID Title
EUVD EUVD EUVD-2023-59805 In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfio/type1: prevent underflow of locked_vm via exec() When a vfio container is preserved across exec, the task does not change, but it gets a new mm with locked_vm=0, and loses the count from existing dma mappings. If the user later unmaps a dma mapping, locked_vm underflows to a large unsigned value, and a subsequent dma map request fails with ENOMEM in __account_locked_vm. To avoid underflow, grab and save the mm at the time a dma is mapped. Use that mm when adjusting locked_vm, rather than re-acquiring the saved task's mm, which may have changed. If the saved mm is dead, do nothing. locked_vm is incremented for existing mappings in a subsequent patch.
History

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfio/type1: prevent underflow of locked_vm via exec() When a vfio container is preserved across exec, the task does not change, but it gets a new mm with locked_vm=0, and loses the count from existing dma mappings. If the user later unmaps a dma mapping, locked_vm underflows to a large unsigned value, and a subsequent dma map request fails with ENOMEM in __account_locked_vm. To avoid underflow, grab and save the mm at the time a dma is mapped. Use that mm when adjusting locked_vm, rather than re-acquiring the saved task's mm, which may have changed. If the saved mm is dead, do nothing. locked_vm is incremented for existing mappings in a subsequent patch.
Title vfio/type1: prevent underflow of locked_vm via exec()
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-11T19:39:38.716Z

Reserved: 2025-09-15T13:59:19.064Z

Link: CVE-2023-53171

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2025-09-15T14:15:38.940

Modified: 2025-12-02T02:58:59.253

Link: CVE-2023-53171

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2025-09-17T10:08:33Z

Weaknesses