Description
QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the e1000 NIC emulation support is vulnerable to an infinite loop issue. It could occur while processing data via transmit or receive descriptors, provided the initial receive/transmit descriptor head (TDH/RDH) is set outside the allocated descriptor buffer. A privileged user inside guest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU instance resulting in DoS.
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 | qemu | 1:2.5+dfsg-5 | — |
| Debian 13 | qemu | 1:2.5+dfsg-5 | — |
| Debian 12 | qemu | 1:2.5+dfsg-5 | — |
| Debian 8 | qemu | 1:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u5a | DSA-3471-1 |
| Debian 7 | qemu | 1.1.2+dfsg-6a+deb7u12 | DSA-3469-1 |
| Debian 7 | qemu-kvm | 1.1.2+dfsg-6+deb7u12 | DSA-3470-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | qemu | 2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.22 | USN-2891-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 7 | qemu-img +3 | 10:1.5.3-126.el7 | RHSA-2016:2585 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP1 | qemu | 2.3.1-14.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1703-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | xen | 4.5.2_06-7.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:0873-1 |
| SLES 12 | qemu | 2.0.2-48.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1560-1 |
| SLES 12 | xen | 4.4.4_02-22.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1318-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | kvm | 1.4.2-44.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1785-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | xen | 4.4.4_02-32.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:0955-1 |
| SLES 11 SP3 | kvm | 1.4.2-46.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1698-1 |
| SLES 11 SP3 | xen | 4.2.5_20-24.9 | SUSE-SU-2016:1745-1 |
| SLES 11 SP2 | xen | 4.1.6_08-26.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1154-1 |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | qemu | 2.3.1-14.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1703-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | xen | 4.5.2_06-7.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:0873-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 | qemu | 2.0.2-48.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1560-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 | xen | 4.4.4_02-22.19.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1318-1 |
| SLES for SAP 11 SP4 | kvm | 1.4.2-44.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1785-1 |
| SLES for SAP 11 SP4 | xen | 4.4.4_02-32.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:0955-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | xen | 4.7.0_12-1.3 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10196-1 |
Advisories 15
- USN-2891-1 qemu, qemu-kvm vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Sep 7, 2026
- RHSA-2016:2585 Red Hat Security Advisory: qemu-kvm security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-3471-1 qemu - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-3469-1 qemu - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-3470-1 qemu-kvm - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1703-1 Security update for qemu SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1318-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1785-1 Security update for kvm SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1560-1 Security update for qemu SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1698-1 Security update for kvm SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:0955-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1154-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10196-1 xen-4.7.0_12-1.3 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2016:1745-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2016:0873-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
References
- [qemu-devel] 20160119 [PATCH] e1000: eliminate infinite loops on out-of-bounds transfer start mailing-list
- GLSA-201604-01 vendor-advisory
- DSA-3469 vendor-advisory
- DSA-3470 vendor-advisory
- [oss-security] 20160119 CVE request Qemu: net: e1000 infinite loop in start_xmit and e1000_receive_iov routines mailing-list
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1298570
- [oss-security] 20160122 Re: CVE request Qemu: net: e1000 infinite loop in start_xmit and e1000_receive_iov routines mailing-list
- RHSA-2016:2585 vendor-advisory
- DSA-3471 vendor-advisory
- 81549 vdb-entry