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CVE-2021-20181· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

A race condition flaw was found in the 9pfs server implementation of QEMU up to and including 5.2.0.

A race condition flaw was found in the 9pfs server implementation of QEMU up to and including 5.2.0. This flaw allows a malicious 9p client to cause a use-after-free error, potentially escalating their privileges on the system. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity as well as system availability.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

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Published
May 13, 2021
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 24th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

30

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
qemuqemu
debiandebian linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux10.0
  • debian debian linux9.0
  • qemu qemuup to 5.2.0 inclusive

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a qemu

    • up to, including 5.2.0affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:10qemubefore 1:3.1+dfsg-8+deb10u91:3.1+dfsg-8+deb10u9
Debian:12qemubefore 1:5.2+dfsg-41:5.2+dfsg-4
Debian:9qemubefore 1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u131:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u13
openSUSE:Leap 15.2qemubefore 4.2.1-lp152.9.9.24.2.1-lp152.9.9.2
openSUSE:Leap 15.2qemu-linux-userbefore 4.2.1-lp152.9.9.34.2.1-lp152.9.9.3
openSUSE:Leap 15.2qemu-testsuitebefore 4.2.1-lp152.9.9.54.2.1-lp152.9.9.5
SUSE:HPE Helion OpenStack 8qemubefore 2.9.1-6.47.12.9.1-6.47.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOSqemubefore 2.11.2-9.43.12.11.2-9.43.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2qemubefore 4.2.1-11.13.14.2.1-11.13.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3kvmbefore 1.4.2-53.38.11.4.2-53.38.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSSkvmbefore 1.4.2-60.34.11.4.2-60.34.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCLqemubefore 2.6.2-41.62.12.6.2-41.62.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5qemubefore 3.1.1.1-48.23.1.1.1-48.2
SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 9qemubefore 2.11.2-5.29.12.11.2-5.29.1

Same product

qemu: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2019-12928The QMP migrate command in QEMU version 4.0.0 and earlier is vulnerable to OS command injection, which allows the remote attacker to achieve
    46Plan
  • CVE-2015-8556Local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Gentoo QEMU package before 2.5.0-r1.
    44Plan
  • CVE-2017-15118A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability was found in NBD server implementation in qemu before 2.11 allowing a client to request an expor
    43Plan
  • CVE-2022-36648The hardware emulation in the of_dpa_cmd_add_l2_flood of rocker device model in QEMU, as used in 7.0.0 and earlier, allows remote attackers
    41Plan
  • CVE-2017-16845hw/input/ps2.c in Qemu does not validate 'rptr' and 'count' values during guest migration, leading to out-of-bounds access.
    41Plan
  • CVE-2016-7161Heap-based buffer overflow in the .receive callback of xlnx.xps-ethernetlite in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows attackers to execute arbitr
    41Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:qemu1:5.2+dfsg-4 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:qemu4.2.1-lp152.9.9.2 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:qemu-linux-user4.2.1-lp152.9.9.3 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:qemu-testsuite4.2.1-lp152.9.9.5 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2Package registry (OSV)
suse:kvm1.4.2-60.34.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSSPackage registry (OSV)
suse:qemu4.2.1-11.13.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

All records