CVE-2020-25598: An issue was discovered in Xen 4.14.x.
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.41% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: xen (Alpine:v3.10) 4.12.3-r4; xen (Alpine:v3.11) 4.13.1-r4; xen (Alpine:v3.13) 4.14.0-r1.
- Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).
Low priority for now. Upgrade to xen (Alpine:v3.10) 4.12.3-r4; xen (Alpine:v3.11) 4.13.1-r4; xen (Alpine:v3.13) 4.14.0-r1 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
An issue was discovered in Xen 4.14.x. There is a missing unlock in the XENMEM_acquire_resource error path. The RCU (Read, Copy, Update) mechanism is a synchronisation primitive. A buggy error path in the XENMEM_acquire_resource exits without releasing an RCU reference, which is conceptually similar to forgetting to unlock a spinlock. A buggy or malicious HVM stubdomain can cause an RCU reference to be leaked. This causes subsequent administration operations, (e.g., CPU offline) to livelock, resulting in a host Denial of Service. The buggy codepath has been present since Xen 4.12. Xen 4.14 and later are vulnerable to the DoS. The side effects are believed to be benign on Xen 4.12 and 4.13, but patches are provided nevertheless. The vulnerability can generally only be exploited by x86 HVM VMs, as these are generally the only type of VM that have a Qemu stubdomain. x86 PV and PVH domains, as well as ARM VMs, typically don't use a stubdomain. Only VMs using HVM stubdomains can exploit the vulnerability. VMs using PV stubdomains, or with emulators running in dom0, cannot exploit the vulnerability.
- Published
- Sep 23, 2020
- Updated
- Jun 16, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.4% · 36th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-670
Report tools
Action score
22
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.4%
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
Is your version affected? Check itNoroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| xen | xen | cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen |
| fedoraproject | fedora | cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora |
| opensuse | leap | cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- fedoraproject fedora31
- fedoraproject fedora32
- fedoraproject fedora33
- opensuse leap15.2
- xen xen4.12.0 and later · up to 4.14.0 inclusive
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine:v3.10 | xen | from 4.12.0 · before 4.12.3-r4 | 4.12.3-r4 |
| Alpine:v3.11 | xen | from 4.12.0 · before 4.13.1-r4 | 4.13.1-r4 |
| Alpine:v3.13 | xen | from 4.12.0 · before 4.14.0-r1 | 4.14.0-r1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.2 | xen | before 4.13.1_08-lp152.2.9.1 | 4.13.1_08-lp152.2.9.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | xen | before 4.12.3_08-3.28.1 | 4.12.3_08-3.28.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | xen | before 4.13.1_08-3.10.1 | 4.13.1_08-3.10.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | xen | before 4.12.3_08-3.24.1 | 4.12.3_08-3.24.1 |
Same product
xen: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2017-10921The grant-table feature in Xen through 4.8.x does not ensure sufficient type counts for a GNTMAP_device_map and GNTMAP_host_map mapping…41Plan
- CVE-2017-10920The grant-table feature in Xen through 4.8.x mishandles a GNTMAP_device_map and GNTMAP_host_map mapping, when followed by only a…41Plan
- CVE-2017-10918Xen through 4.8.x does not validate memory allocations during certain P2M operations, which allows guest OS users to obtain privileged host…41Plan
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2020-25596Sep 23, 2020 · An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x.22Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2020-25597Sep 23, 2020 · An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x.26Monitor
- Later →CVE-2020-25599Sep 23, 2020 · An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x.28Monitor
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 |
|---|---|---|
| alpine:xen | 4.12.3-r4 · Alpine:v3.10 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:xen | 4.13.1_08-lp152.2.9.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.2 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:xen | 4.12.3_08-3.24.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | 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.
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-20-781 · Sep 24, 2020(Xen Zafiyeti)
Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-670 · Always-Incorrect Control Flow ImplementationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log (1)
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (5 more)Show less
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/4JRXMKEMQRQYWYEPHVBIWUEAVQ3LU4FN/
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DA633Y3G5KX7MKRN4PFEGM3IVTJMBEOM/
- lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RJZERRBJN6E6STDCHT4JHP4MI6TKBCJE/
- security.gentoo.org/glsa/202011-06
- xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-334.html
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.