CVE-2026-53657 lima-vm CVE debrief

Who should care

Users of Lima VM, especially those running version prior to 2.1.3, should be aware of this vulnerability and take steps to mitigate it. This includes updating to version 2.1.3 or later, disabling the guest agent if not necessary, monitoring for suspicious activity in the VM, and restricting access to the guest agent socket. Operators of affected systems should review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance.

Technical summary

Prior to version 2.1.3, Lima VM's qemu driver allows an arbitrary user in the VM to access the /run/lima-guestagent.sock when the guest agent is enabled. This could result in running arbitrary commands with root privileges in the VM because the guest agent socket provides tunneling for arbitrary addresses, including Unix socket addresses for privileged daemons like D-Bus. The vulnerability is fixed in version 2.1.3, and users should update to this version or later to mitigate the vulnerability.

Defensive priority

High priority should be given to updating Lima VM to version 2.1.3 or later, and ensuring that the guest agent is not enabled unnecessarily. Operators should also review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance, and plan vendor-supported updates or mitigations through normal change control where exposure is confirmed.

Recommended defensive actions

• Update Lima VM to version 2.1.3 or later
• Disable the guest agent if not necessary
• Monitor for suspicious activity in the VM
• Restrict access to the guest agent socket
• Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented

Evidence notes

The CVE record was published on 2026-07-10T17:16:57.987Z and has not been modified since then. The NVD entry is currently Deferred. There is limited information available about the vulnerability, and defenders should verify the affected scope and severity with the vendor. The guest agent socket provides tunneling for arbitrary addresses, including Unix socket addresses for privileged daemons like D-Bus, which could result in running arbitrary commands with root privileges in the VM.

Official resources