qemu-kvm before 0.11.0 disables VNC authentication when the password is cleared, which allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and
qemu-kvm before 0.11.0 disables VNC authentication when the password is cleared, which allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and establish VNC sessions.
- Published
- Jun 21, 2012
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.3% · 69th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-287
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Report tools
Action score
17
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 17 / 40 · 4.3 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 1.3%
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| qemu | qemu | cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- qemu qemuup to 0.11.0 inclusive
- qemu qemu0.1.0
- qemu qemu0.1.1
- qemu qemu0.1.2
- qemu qemu0.1.3
- qemu qemu0.1.4
- qemu qemu0.1.5
- qemu qemu0.1.6
- qemu qemu0.10.0
- qemu qemu0.10.1
- qemu qemu0.10.2
- qemu qemu0.10.3
- qemu qemu0.10.4
- qemu qemu0.10.5
- qemu qemu0.10.6
- qemu qemu0.11.0
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:6.0 | qemu-kvm | before 0.12.5+dfsg-5+squeeze1 | 0.12.5+dfsg-5+squeeze1 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | qemu-img | before 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | qemu-kvm | before 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | qemu-kvm-debuginfo | before 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 |
| Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | qemu-kvm-tools | before 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 |
Same product
qemu: all recordsOther 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 achieve46Plan
- 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 expor43Plan
- 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 arbitr41Plan
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:qemu-kvm | 0.12.5+dfsg-5+squeeze1 · Debian:6.0 | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:qemu-img | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:qemu-kvm | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:qemu-kvm-debuginfo | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package registry (OSV) |
| red hat:qemu-kvm-tools | 2:0.12.1.2-2.113.el6_0.8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | Package 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.
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.
Credits
All researchersFinders, 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
- Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- P · data can be read
- Integrity
- P · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- P · the service can be disrupted
- Attack complexity
- High
- Confidentiality impact
- P
- Integrity impact
- P
- Availability impact
- P
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-287 · Improper AuthenticationCVSS vector
AV:A/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
nvd-primary
Root cause
Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-287 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middlewareapp.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);Fixed
const admin = express.Router();admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);app.use("/admin", admin);Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Authentication AbuseCAPEC-114Medium
- Authentication BypassCAPEC-115Medium
- Identity SpoofingCAPEC-151likelihood: Medium · Medium
- Fake the Source of DataCAPEC-194Medium
- Exploiting Trust in ClientCAPEC-22likelihood: High · High
- Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive DataCAPEC-57likelihood: Medium · Very High
- Session HijackingCAPEC-593likelihood: High · Very High
- Token ImpersonationCAPEC-633Medium
ATT&CK techniques
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2011-0345.html
- secunia.com/advisories/42830
- secunia.com/advisories/43272
- secunia.com/advisories/43733
- secunia.com/advisories/44393
- ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1063-1
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/10/3
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/11/1
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/01/12/2
- www.osvdb.org/70992
- bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libvirt/+bug/697197
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/65215
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.