---
id: CVE-2023-5088
title: 'Qemu: improper ide controller reset can lead to mbr overwrite'
summary: >-
  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…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.4
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-821
vendor: Red Hat
product: 'virt-devel:rhel'
affected:
  - 'virt-devel:rhel (all versions)'
  - 'virt:rhel (all versions)'
  - qemu-kvm (all versions)
  - qemu-kvm
  - qemu-kvm
  - qemu-kvm-ma
  - 'virt:av/qemu-kvm (all versions)'
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2025-06-12T14:28:52.090327Z'
published: '2023-11-03'
updated: '2026-11-07'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-07T13:41:35.696Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5088'
references:
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2135'
    label: 'RHSA-2024:2135'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2962'
    label: 'RHSA-2024:2962'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5088'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2247283'
    label: RHBZ#2247283
  - url: >-
      https://lore.kernel.org/all/20230921160712.99521-1-simon.rowe@nutanix.com/T/
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00257
epssPercentile: 0.17484
ingestedAt: '2026-11-07T14:18:21.471Z'
---

## Overview

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.

## Affected

- `virt-devel:rhel (all versions)`
- `virt:rhel (all versions)`
- `qemu-kvm (all versions)`
- `qemu-kvm`
- `qemu-kvm`
- `qemu-kvm-ma`
- `virt:av/qemu-kvm (all versions)`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

### Workarounds

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.