Description
An issue was discovered in Xen 4.5.x through 4.9.x. The function `__gnttab_cache_flush` handles GNTTABOP_cache_flush grant table operations. It checks to see if the calling domain is the owner of the page that is to be operated on. If it is not, the owner's grant table is checked to see if a grant mapping to the calling domain exists for the page in question. However, the function does not check to see if the owning domain actually has a grant table or not. Some special domains, such as `DOMID_XEN`, `DOMID_IO` and `DOMID_COW` are created without grant tables. Hence, if __gnttab_cache_flush operates on a page owned by these special domains, it will attempt to dereference a NULL pointer in the domain struct.
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 | xen | 4.8.2+xsa245-0+deb9u1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xen | 4.8.2+xsa245-0+deb9u1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xen | 4.8.2+xsa245-0+deb9u1 | — |
| Debian 9 | xen | 4.8.2+xsa245-0+deb9u1 | DSA-4050-1 |
| Debian 7 | xen | 4.1.6.lts1-9 | DLA-1132-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | xen | 4.6.5-0ubuntu1.4 | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.0_12-3.15.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2420-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | xen | 4.7.3_04-43.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2519-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | xen | 4.5.5_16-22.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2466-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.0_12-3.15.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2420-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | xen | 4.7.3_04-43.12.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2519-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | xen | 4.5.5_16-22.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2466-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 6 | xen | 4.5.5_16-22.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2466-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
Show 17 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | xen | 4.9.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.6 | xen | 4.8.2-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.5 | xen | 4.7.2-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.4 | xen | 4.6.3-r11 | — |
| Alpine v3.3 | xen | 4.6.3-r9 | — |
Advisories 5
- DSA-4050-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-1132-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:2420-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:2466-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:2519-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX227185
- DSA-4050 vendor-advisory
- 1039349 vdb-entry
- http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-232.html
- 100817 vdb-entry