CVE-2023-53998
Published: Dec 24, 2025
Modified: May 11, 2026
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwrng: virtio - Fix race on data_avail and actual data The virtio rng device kicks off a new entropy request whenever the data available reaches zero. When a new request occurs at the end of a read operation, that is, when the result of that request is only needed by the next reader, then there is a race between the writing of the new data and the next reader. This is because there is no synchronisation whatsoever between the writer and the reader. Fix this by writing data_avail with smp_store_release and reading it with smp_load_acquire when we first enter read. The subsequent reads are safe because they're either protected by the first load acquire, or by the completion mechanism. Also remove the redundant zeroing of data_idx in random_recv_done (data_idx must already be zero at this point) and data_avail in request_entropy (ditto).
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
Linux | Linux | affected f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 - < 241ef15776a7c8505008db689175b320d345ecd3affected f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 - < a43bcb0b661cbbf3ad797d2aee6b6fd06b8fc69daffected f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 - < 77471e4912d3960dafe141e268c44be8024fe4dcaffected f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 - < c76d991b6f01a5d931e7053a73bc9524975a5215affected f7f510ec195781c857ab76366a3e1c59e1caae42 - < 22c30022cde6e2c88612b3a499223cfa912f1bc7+3 more versions |
Linux | Linux | affected 2.6.26unaffected 0 - < 2.6.26unaffected 4.19.291 - <= 4.19.*unaffected 5.4.251 - <= 5.4.*unaffected 5.10.188 - <= 5.10.*+5 more versions |
References
Security Training
Train your team to recognize and prevent security threats with our comprehensive security awareness program.
Start TrainingVulnerability Scanning
Discover vulnerabilities in your applications and infrastructure before attackers do.
Scan Now