Description
The do_block_io_op function in (1) drivers/xen/blkback/blkback.c and (2) drivers/xen/blktap/blktap.c in Xen before 3.4.0 for the Linux kernel 2.6.18, and possibly other versions, allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (infinite loop and CPU consumption) via a large production request index to the blkback or blktap back-end drivers. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | kernel +12 | 2.6.18-194.32.1.el5 | RHSA-2011:0004 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2011:0004 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
References
- 42789 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2011-0024 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2011:0004 vendor-advisory
- 45029 vdb-entry
- 20111013 VMSA-2011-0012 VMware ESXi and ESX updates to third party libraries and ESX Service Console mailing-list
- 46397 third-party-advisory
- 35093 third-party-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=656206
- http://xenbits.xensource.com/linux-2.6.18-xen.hg?rev/77f831cbb91d
- [oss-security] 20101123 CVE request: xen: request-processing loop is unbounded in blkback mailing-list
- http://xenbits.xensource.com/linux-2.6.18-xen.hg?rev/7070d34f251c
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2011-0012.html
- [oss-security] 20101124 Re: CVE request: xen: request-processing loop is unbounded in blkback mailing-list