CVE-2020-13765: Medium severity Qemu Qemu vulnerability

Published May 12, 2020
·
Updated

An out-of-bound write access flaw was found in the way QEMU loads ROM contents at boot time. This flaw occurs in the romcopy() routine while loading the contents of a 32-bit -kernel image into memory. Running an untrusted -kernel image may load contents at arbitrary memory locations, potentially leading to code execution with the privileges of the QEMU process.

Other sources

An out-of-bound write access issue was found in the way QEMU loads ROM contents at boot time. It occurs in romcopy() routine while loading contents of a 32-bit -kernel image into memory. Running an untrusted -kernel image may load contents at arbitrary memory locations, potentially leading to code execution with the privileges of the QEMU process.

Upstream patch: --------------- -> https://git.qemu.org/?p=qemu.git;a=commitdiff;h=e423455c4f23a1a828901c78fe6d03b7dde79319

Reference: ---------- -> https://bugs.launchpad.net/qemu/+bug/1844635 -> https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/03/6

Red Hat

romcopy() in hw/core/loader.c in QEMU 4.0 and 4.1.0 does not validate the relationship between two addresses, which allows attackers to trigger an invalid memory copy operation.

Affected Software

10 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/qemu-kvm<10:1.5.3-175.el7_9.3
10:1.5.3-175.el7_9.3
redhat/QEMU<4.2.0
4.2.0
Qemu Qemu=4.0.0
Qemu Qemu=4.1.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=20.04
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
debian/qemu
1:5.2+dfsg-11+deb11u31:5.2+dfsg-11+deb11u51:7.2+dfsg-7+deb12u181:7.2+dfsg-7+deb12u151:10.0.7+ds-0+deb13u11:10.0.2+ds-2+deb13u11:10.2.1+ds-1

Event History

May 12, 2020
CVE Published
12:00 AM
Jun 4, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:26 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:26 PM
Description
Feb 23, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·06:23 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·06:23 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via Debian·06:24 PM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2020-13765?

CVE-2020-13765 is a vulnerability that allows an out-of-bound write access in QEMU while loading ROM contents at boot time.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2020-13765?

CVE-2020-13765 has a severity rating of 5.6, which is considered medium.

3

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2020-13765?

QEMU versions 4.0 and 4.1.0 are affected by CVE-2020-13765.

4

How can I fix CVE-2020-13765?

To fix CVE-2020-13765, update QEMU to version 4.2.0.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2020-13765?

You can find more information about CVE-2020-13765 in the references provided: [link1], [link2], [link3].

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203