CVE-2014-3611: Race Condition

Published Sep 21, 2014
·
Updated

Last updated 24 July 2024

Other sources

Race condition in the kvmmigratepittimer function in arch/x86/kvm/i8254.c in the KVM subsystem in the Linux kernel through 3.17.2 allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host OS crash) by leveraging incorrect PIT emulation.

Launchpad

There's a race condition in the PIT emulation code in KVM. In kvmmigratepittimer the pittimer object is accessed without synchronization.

A local guest user with access to the PIT i/o ports could use this flaw to crash the host.

Acknowledgements:

Red Hat would like to thank Lars Bull of Google for reporting this issue.

Red Hat

Affected Software

6 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel<=3.17.2
redhat Enterprise Linux=5.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=10.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=12.04
Debian Debian Linux=7.0
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.234-16.1.129-16.1.135-16.12.25-16.12.27-1

Event History

Sep 21, 2014
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·07:30 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Nov 10, 2014
CVE Published
via MITRE·11:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·11:00 AM
Description
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:06 PM
Description
Sep 16, 2024
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·01:03 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Apr 28, 2025
Data Sourced
via Debian·02:09 AM
DescriptionAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2014-3611?

CVE-2014-3611 is classified as a denial of service vulnerability that can lead to a host OS crash.

2

How do I fix CVE-2014-3611?

To fix CVE-2014-3611, you should upgrade to a version of the Linux kernel that is above 3.17.2 or apply relevant patch updates from your distribution.

3

Which versions of Linux are affected by CVE-2014-3611?

CVE-2014-3611 affects Linux kernel versions up to and including 3.17.2, as well as specific versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, and Debian.

4

What kind of applications are impacted by CVE-2014-3611?

CVE-2014-3611 impacts applications running on guest operating systems that leverage the KVM subsystem of the Linux kernel.

5

How can I identify if my system is vulnerable to CVE-2014-3611?

You can identify if your system is vulnerable to CVE-2014-3611 by checking the version of your Linux kernel and ensuring it's not older than 3.17.2.

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