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CVE-2023-5633 is a high-severity use-after-free flaw in the Linux kernel's vmwgfx graphics driver. Improper reference-count updates in surface memory-object handling—introduced through fixes for CVE-2023-33951 and CVE-2023-33952—can allow a local unprivileged attacker to escalate privileges in VMware guest systems with 3D acceleration enabled. Red Hat rates the issue CVSS 7.8 and maps it to CWE-911, improper update of reference count.
The upstream remediation is commit 91398b413d03660fd5828f7b4abc64e884b98069; Fedora included a fix in its 6.5.8 stable kernel update, and Red Hat released updated kernel packages for affected RHEL 8, RHEL 9, 8.8 EUS, and 9.2 EUS systems. RHEL 9 kernel-rt remains affected; organizations unable to patch should disable VMware 3D acceleration or prevent the vmwgfx module from loading.
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Red Hat issued RHSA-2024:0113 for the RHEL 8 kernel and RHSA-2024:0134 for the RHEL 8 kernel-rt package, fixing CVE-2023-5633.
Mauro Matteo Cascella reported CVE-2023-5633, a vmwgfx surface-handling reference-count flaw that can cause use-after-free and potential local privilege escalation in VMware guests with 3D acceleration enabled.
Red Hat released RHSA-2024:4823 for the RHEL 9.2 Extended Update Support kernel and RHSA-2024:4831 for kernel-rt, addressing CVE-2023-5633.
Red Hat released RHSA-2024:1404 to fix CVE-2023-5633 in the RHEL 8.8 Extended Update Support kernel.
Red Hat addressed CVE-2023-5633 in the RHEL 9 kernel through advisory RHSA-2024:0461.
Fedora addressed CVE-2023-5633 in its Linux 6.5.8 stable kernel update.
The issue was fixed upstream in Linux kernel 6.6-rc6 through commit 91398b413d03660fd5828f7b4abc64e884b98069.
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**CVE-2023-52648** is a moderate-severity flaw in the Linux kernel's VMware graphics driver, `drm/vmwgfx`, that can let a local user trigger a denial of service through a kernel null-pointer dereference. When a plane state changes, the driver can unreference a cached surface without clearing its mapped-state flag, leaving duplicated plane-state data inconsistent; cleanup can then crash the kernel. The issue was observed with KDE KWin 6.0 on Wayland and affects code introduced in Linux kernel 5.19. The defect is fixed in upstream Linux kernel versions 6.6.24, 6.7.12, 6.8.3, and 6.9-rc1. Red Hat assigned CVSS 3.1 score **5.5** and released corrected kernel packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9, including RHEL 9.4 Extended Update Support; the RHEL 9 `kernel-rt` package remained affected, while RHEL 6 and 7 were outside support scope. Organizations should deploy current vendor kernel updates rather than cherry-picking the individual patch.
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**CVE-2023-33951** is a moderate-severity race condition in the Linux kernel’s `vmwgfx` driver affecting its handling of GEM objects. Improper locking can allow a local, highly privileged attacker to disclose kernel-context information, with Red Hat also assessing a low availability impact. Red Hat assigned a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.7; NVD scored it 5.3, reflecting a higher assessed attack complexity. Red Hat released fixes through errata for affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9 kernel package streams between November 2023 and July 2024. RHEL 9 `kernel-rt` remains listed as affected. Organizations should apply the relevant kernel updates and, where patching is not immediately possible, prevent the `vmwgfx` kernel module from loading.
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**CVE-2023-52662** is a low-severity memory-leak flaw in the Linux kernel's VMware graphics driver, `drm/vmwgfx`. In `vmw_gmrid_man_get_node`, failure of `ida_alloc_max` can leave `kmalloc`-allocated memory and resources initialized through `ttm_resource_init` unfreed, potentially causing a local, low-privileged user to exhaust system memory and affect availability. The issue was introduced in Linux kernel 5.14 and has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5. The flaw is fixed in upstream stable kernels 5.15.153, 6.1.83, 6.6.23, 6.7.11, 6.8.2, and 6.9. Red Hat released corrected standard and real-time kernel packages for RHEL 8 and standard kernel packages for RHEL 9, including RHEL 9.4 EUS; the RHEL 9 real-time kernel fix remains deferred. RHEL 6 and RHEL 7 kernel packages are outside support scope and should be treated as affected unless mitigated or upgraded. Organizations should deploy supported updated kernel packages and reboot affected hosts.
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