CVE-2023-5088

Qemu: improper ide controller reset can lead to mbr overwrite

publishedCWE-821

A bug in QEMU could cause a guest I/O operation otherwise addressed to an arbitrary disk offset to be targeted to offset 0 instead (potentially overwriting the VM's boot code). This could be used, for example, by L2 guests with a virtual disk (vdiskL2) stored on a virtual disk of an L1 (vdiskL1) hypervisor to read and/or write data to LBA 0 of vdiskL1, potentially gaining control of L1 at its next reboot.

Technical severity6.4 mediumCVSS 3.1 · CNA: redhat

Published2023-11-03Source updated 2026-11-07

Collected2026-11-072 attributed sources

Fixes and workarounds

Workaround

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.

Source: CNA: redhat

Affected products and versions

Affected products, source version ranges and reporting authorities
Product	Versions	Authority
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Red Hat `virt-devel:rhel` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	≥ 8100020240314161907.e155f54d; < * (unaffected, rpm) Other versions: affected	CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Red Hat `virt:rhel` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	≥ 8100020240314161907.e155f54d; < * (unaffected, rpm) Other versions: affected	CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Red Hat `qemu-kvm` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	≥ 17:8.2.0-11.el9_4; < * (unaffected, rpm) Other versions: affected	CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Red Hat `qemu-kvm` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	Range not reported Other versions: unknown	CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Red Hat `qemu-kvm` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	Range not reported Other versions: unknown	CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Red Hat `qemu-kvm-ma` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	Range not reported Other versions: unknown	CNA: redhat
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Advanced Virtualization Red Hat `virt:av/qemu-kvm` https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/	Range not reported Other versions: affected	CNA: redhat

Version ranges are source assertions. Check the vendor advisory and your installed configuration before determining exposure.

CVSS assessments

CVSS scores, vectors and reporting authorities
Version / score	Vector	Authority
3.1 / 6.4 medium	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`	CNA: redhat

Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2135CNA: redhat · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2962CNA: redhat · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5088CNA: redhat · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2247283CNA: redhat · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/T/CNA: redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2135ADP: CVE · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2962ADP: CVE · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5088ADP: CVE · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2247283ADP: CVE · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/03/msg00012.htmlADP: CVE · x_transferred
https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/T/ADP: CVE · x_transferred
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231208-0005/ADP: CVE · x_transferred
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00042.htmlADP: CVE

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