Summary
In Lima, a malicious disk image could read a single file on the host filesystem as a qcow2/vmdk backing file
Note
The official templates of Lima, and the well-known third party products (Colima, Rancher Desktop, and Finch) are unlikely to be affected by this issue.
Workarounds
Do not use an untrusted disk image.
Impact
A virtual machine instance with a malicious disk image could read a single file on the host filesystem, even when no filesystem is mounted from the host.
To exploit this issue, the attacker has to embed the target file path (an absolute or a relative path from the instance directory) in a malicious disk image, as the qcow2 (or vmdk) backing file path string.
As Lima refuses to run as the root, it is practically impossible for the attacker to read the entire host disk via /dev/rdiskN.
Also, practically, the attacker cannot read at least the first 512 bytes (MBR) of the target file.
CVE-2023-32684 has a CVSS score of 2.7 (Low). The vector is requires local access, no privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.16.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Patched in Lima v0.16.0, by prohibiting using a backing file path in the VM base image.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-32684? CVE-2023-32684 is a low-severity security vulnerability in github.com/lima-vm/lima (go), affecting versions < 0.16.0. It is fixed in 0.16.0.
- How severe is CVE-2023-32684? CVE-2023-32684 has a CVSS score of 2.7 (Low). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/lima-vm/lima are affected by CVE-2023-32684? github.com/lima-vm/lima (go) versions < 0.16.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-32684? Yes. CVE-2023-32684 is fixed in 0.16.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-32684 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-32684 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2023-32684 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2023-32684? Upgrade
github.com/lima-vm/limato 0.16.0 or later.