Description
libvirt.c in the API in Red Hat libvirt 0.8.8 does not properly restrict operations in a read-only connection, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (host OS crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a (1) virNodeDeviceDettach, (2) virNodeDeviceReset, (3) virDomainRevertToSnapshot, (4) virDomainSnapshotDelete, (5) virNodeDeviceReAttach, or (6) virConnectDomainXMLToNative call, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-5086.
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.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | libvirt | 0.8.8-3 | — |
| Debian 13 | libvirt | 0.8.8-3 | — |
| Debian 12 | libvirt | 0.8.8-3 | — |
| Debian 6.0 | libvirt | 0.8.3-5+squeeze1 | DSA-2194-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | libvirt +3 | 0.8.1-27.el6_0.5 | RHSA-2011:0391 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Rhel Virtualization 5 | libvirt +2 | 0.8.2-15.el5_6.3 | RHSA-2011:0391 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | libvirt | 2.5.0-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10209-1 |
Advisories 3
- RHSA-2011:0391 Red Hat Security Advisory: libvirt security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-2194-1 libvirt - privilege escalation Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10209-1 libvirt-2.5.0-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- 43897 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2011:0391 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=678406
- FEDORA-2011-3286 vendor-advisory
- USN-1094-1 vendor-advisory
- 43670 third-party-advisory
- http://libvirt.org/git/?p=libvirt.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=71753cb7f7a16ff800381c0b5ee4e99eea92fed3
- 44069 third-party-advisory
- 46820 vdb-entry
- [oss-security] 20110309 CVE request: libvirt: several API calls do not honour read-only connection mailing-list
- openSUSE-SU-2011:0311 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2011-0794 vdb-entry
- DSA-2194 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=683650
- 1025262 vdb-entry
- 43917 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2011-0700 vdb-entry
- ADV-2011-0694 vdb-entry
- [oss-security] 20110310 Re: CVE request: libvirt: several API calls do not honour read-only connection mailing-list
- 43780 third-party-advisory
- libvirt-apicalls-dos(66012) vdb-entry
- ADV-2011-0805 vdb-entry
- http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=617773