Description
Xen through 4.8.x mishandles the "contains segment descriptors" property during GNTTABOP_transfer (aka guest transfer) operations, which might allow PV guest OS users to execute arbitrary code on the host OS, aka XSA-214.
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 | 4.8.1-1+deb9u1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xen | 4.8.1-1+deb9u1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xen | 4.8.1-1+deb9u1 | — |
| Debian 8 | xen | 4.4.1-9+deb8u9 | DSA-3847-1 |
| Debian 7 | xen | 4.1.6.lts1-8 | DLA-964-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | xen | 4.6.5-0ubuntu1.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | xen | 4.4.2-0ubuntu0.14.04.11 | — |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
Show 17 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.8 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.7 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.6 | xen | 4.8.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.5 | xen | 4.7.2-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.4 | xen | 4.6.3-r9 | — |
| Alpine v3.3 | xen | 4.6.3-r7 | — |
Advisories 2
- DLA-964-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-3847-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- GLSA-201705-11 vendor-advisory
- 98428 vdb-entry
- https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-214.html
- https://blog.xenproject.org/2017/05/02/updates-on-xsa-213-xsa-214-and-xsa-215/
- 1038387 vdb-entry