Description
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.9.x allowing HVM guest OS users to cause a denial of service (infinite loop and host OS hang) by leveraging the mishandling of Populate on Demand (PoD) errors.
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 | 4.4.4lts3-0+deb8u1 | DLA-1559-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 7 | xen | 4.1.6.lts1-11 | DLA-1230-1 |
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 | — |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.6 | xen | 4.8.2-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.5 | xen | 4.7.3-r2 | — |
Advisories 3
- DSA-4050-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-1559-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DLA-1230-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- [debian-lts-announce] 20181030 [SECURITY] [DLA 1559-1] xen security update mailing-list
- 102129 vdb-entry
- https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-246.html
- [debian-lts-announce] 20180105 [SECURITY] [DLA 1230-1] xen security update mailing-list
- 102008 vdb-entry
- 1039878 vdb-entry
- GLSA-201801-14 vendor-advisory
- 105954 vdb-entry
- https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX230138