#VU14476 Denial of service in Xen - CVE-2018-15468

Vulnerability identifier: #VU14476

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-15468

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Xen
Server applications / Virtualization software

Vendor: Xen Project

Description

The vulnerability allows an adjacent administrative attacker to cause DoS condition on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to the DEBUGCTL MSR contains several debugging features, some of which virtualise cleanly, but some do not when Branch Trace Store is not virtualised by the processor. An adjacent attacker can lock up the entire host, choose any MSR_DEBUGCTL setting it likes and cause the service to crash.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Xen: 4.6.0 - 4.11.0

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External links
https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-269.html

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the local network (LAN).

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.