Description
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.9.x. Grant copying code made an implication that any grant pin would be accompanied by a suitable page reference. Other portions of code, however, did not match up with that assumption. When such a grant copy operation is being done on a grant of a dying domain, the assumption turns out wrong. A malicious guest administrator can cause hypervisor memory corruption, most likely resulting in host crash and a Denial of Service. Privilege escalation and information leaks cannot be ruled out.
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 8 | xen | 4.4.4lts2-0+deb8u1 | DLA-1549-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | xen | 4.9.2-0ubuntu1 | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.1_02-3.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3115-1 |
| SLES 12 SP2 | xen | 4.7.4_02-43.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3178-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | xen | 4.5.5_20-22.36.3 | SUSE-SU-2017:3236-1 |
| SLES 12 | xen | 4.4.4_26-22.59.3 | SUSE-SU-2017:3239-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | xen | 4.4.4_26-61.17.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3242-1 |
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 11 SP3 | xen | 4.2.5_21-45.16.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3212-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.1_02-3.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3115-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | xen | 4.7.4_02-43.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3178-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | xen | 4.5.5_20-22.36.3 | SUSE-SU-2017:3236-1 |
| SLES for SAP 11 SP4 | xen | 4.4.4_26-61.17.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3242-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 6 | xen | 4.5.5_20-22.36.3 | SUSE-SU-2017:3236-1 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | xen | 4.2.5_21-45.16.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:3212-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
Show 16 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | xen | 4.9.0-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.6 | xen | 4.8.2-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.5 | xen | 4.7.3-r3 | — |
| Alpine v3.4 | xen | 4.6.6-r2 | — |
Advisories 8
- DLA-1549-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-4050-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3178-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3242-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3236-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3239-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3115-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:3212-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-236.html
- 101564 vdb-entry
- [oss-security] 20171024 Xen Security Advisory 236 (CVE-2017-15597) - pin count / page reference race in grant table code mailing-list
- DSA-4050 vendor-advisory
- https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX229057
- 1039653 vdb-entry
- [debian-lts-announce] 20181018 [SECURITY] [DLA 1549-1] xen security update mailing-list