Description
The virtqueue_map_desc function in hw/virtio/virtio.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local guest OS administrators to cause a denial of service (infinite loop and QEMU process crash) via a zero length for the descriptor buffer.
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 | 1:2.6+dfsg-3.1 | — |
| Debian 13 | qemu | 1:2.6+dfsg-3.1 | — |
| Debian 12 | qemu | 1:2.6+dfsg-3.1 | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP1 | qemu | 2.3.1-21.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2589-1 |
| SLES 12 | qemu | 2.0.2-48.22.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2781-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | kvm | 1.4.2-47.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2628-1 |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | qemu | 2.3.1-21.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2589-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 | qemu | 2.0.2-48.22.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2781-1 |
| SLES for SAP 11 SP4 | kvm | 1.4.2-47.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2628-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | qemu | 6.1.0-32.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11287-1 |
Advisories 4
- SUSE-SU-2016:2781-1 Security update for qemu SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:2589-1 Security update for qemu SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:2628-1 Security update for kvm SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11287-1 qemu-6.1.0-32.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
References
- [oss-security] 20160728 CVE Request Qemu: virtio: infinite loop in virtqueue_pop mailing-list
- [oss-security] 20160728 Re: CVE Request Qemu: virtio: infinite loop in virtqueue_pop mailing-list
- GLSA-201609-01 vendor-advisory
- http://git.qemu.org/?p=qemu.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=1e7aed70144b4673fc26e73062064b6724795e5f
- [qemu-devel] 20160726 [PATCH] virtio: check vring descriptor buffer length mailing-list