Vulnerability identifier: #VU31977

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 6.6 [CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-19580

CWE-ID: CWE-362

Exploitation vector: Local network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Xen
Server applications / Virtualization software

Vendor: Xen Project

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.12.x allowing x86 PV guest OS users to gain host OS privileges by leveraging race conditions in pagetable promotion and demotion operations, because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2019-18421. XSA-299 addressed several critical issues in restartable PV type change operations. Despite extensive testing and auditing, some corner cases were missed. A malicious PV guest administrator may be able to escalate their privilege to that of the host. All security-supported versions of Xen are vulnerable. Only x86 systems are affected. Arm systems are not affected. Only x86 PV guests can leverage the vulnerability. x86 HVM and PVH guests cannot leverage the vulnerability. Note that these attacks require very precise timing, which may be difficult to exploit in practice.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Xen: 4.9.0 - 4.12.0

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External links
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00011.html
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/34HBFTYNMQMWIO2GGK7DB6KV4M6R5YPV/
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/D5R73AYE53QA32KTMHUVKCX6E52CIS43/
http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2020/Jan/21
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-56
http://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4602
http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-310.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.