CVE-2020-25603: High severity xen xapi vulnerability

Published Sep 23, 2020
·
Updated

An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. There are missing memory barriers when accessing/allocating an event channel. Event channels control structures can be accessed lockless as long as the port is considered to be valid. Such a sequence is missing an appropriate memory barrier (e.g., smpmb()) to prevent both the compiler and CPU from re-ordering access. A malicious guest may be able to cause a hypervisor crash resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS). Information leak and privilege escalation cannot be excluded. Systems running all versions of Xen are affected. Whether a system is vulnerable will depend on the CPU and compiler used to build Xen. For all systems, the presence and the scope of the vulnerability depend on the precise re-ordering performed by the compiler used to build Xen. We have not been able to survey compilers; consequently we cannot say which compiler(s) might produce vulnerable code (with which code generation options). GCC documentation clearly suggests that re-ordering is possible. Arm systems will also be vulnerable if the CPU is able to re-order memory access. Please consult your CPU vendor. x86 systems are only vulnerable if a compiler performs re-ordering.

Affected Software

7 affected componentsFixes available
XEN Xen<=4.14.0
Fedoraproject Fedora=31
Fedoraproject Fedora=32
Fedoraproject Fedora=33
openSUSE Leap=15.2
Debian Debian Linux=10.0
debian/xen
4.14.6-14.14.5+94-ge49571868d-14.17.5+23-ga4e5191dc0-1+deb12u14.17.5+23-ga4e5191dc0-14.20.0-14.20.0+68-g35cb38b222-1

Event History

Sep 23, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·09:34 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·09:34 PM
Description
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·11:46 PM
Description
Sep 16, 2024
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·02:25 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Dec 25, 2024
Data Sourced
via Debian·02:19 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2020-25603?

CVE-2020-25603 is a vulnerability in Xen through 4.14.x that involves missing memory barriers when accessing/allocating an event channel.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2020-25603?

The severity of CVE-2020-25603 has not been specified.

3

How does CVE-2020-25603 affect Xen?

CVE-2020-25603 affects Xen through 4.14.x by allowing unauthorized access to event channel control structures.

4

What is the recommended remedy for CVE-2020-25603?

The recommended remedy for CVE-2020-25603 is to update Xen to version 4.11.3+24- or apply the specific patches provided by the respective package sources.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2020-25603?

More information about CVE-2020-25603 can be found at the following references: [Advisory-340](https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-340.html), [Fedora Update 1](https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4JRXMKEMQRQYWYEPHVBIWUEAVQ3LU4FN/), [Fedora Update 2](https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DA633Y3G5KX7MKRN4PFEGM3IVTJMBEOM/)

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