Description
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.13.x, allowing x86 HVM guest OS users to cause a hypervisor crash. An inverted conditional in x86 HVM guests' dirty video RAM tracking code allows such guests to make Xen de-reference a pointer guaranteed to point at unmapped space. A malicious or buggy HVM guest may cause the hypervisor to crash, resulting in Denial of Service (DoS) affecting the entire host. Xen versions from 4.8 onwards are affected. Xen versions 4.7 and earlier are not affected. Only x86 systems are affected. Arm systems are not affected. Only x86 HVM guests using shadow paging can leverage the vulnerability. In addition, there needs to be an entity actively monitoring a guest's video frame buffer (typically for display purposes) in order for such a guest to be able to leverage the vulnerability. x86 PV guests, as well as x86 HVM guests using hardware assisted paging (HAP), cannot leverage the vulnerability.
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 | 4.11.4+24-gddaaccbbab-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xen | 4.11.4+24-gddaaccbbab-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xen | 4.11.4+24-gddaaccbbab-1 | — |
| Debian 10 | xen | 4.11.4+24-gddaaccbbab-1~deb10u1 | DSA-4723-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | xen | 4.11.3+24-g14b62ab3e5-1ubuntu2.3 | USN-5617-1 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP2 | xen | 4.13.1_04-3.4.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1902-1 |
| SLES 15 SP1 | xen | 4.12.3_04-3.22.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1889-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | xen | 4.12.3_04-3.18.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1887-1 |
| SLES 12 SP4 | xen | 4.11.4_04-2.30.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1891-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.4_08-3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 |
Show 11 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 | xen | 4.10.4_12-3.35.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1888-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | xen | 4.12.3_04-3.18.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1887-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | xen | 4.11.4_04-2.30.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1891-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.4_08-3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 | xen | 4.10.4_12-3.35.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1888-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | xen | 4.11.4_04-2.30.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1891-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | xen | 4.9.4_08-3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | xen | 4.11.4_04-2.30.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1891-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | xen | 4.9.4_08-3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 |
| SUSE HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | xen | 4.9.4_08-3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 5 | xen | 4.9.4_08-3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | xen | 4.15.1_01-1.2 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11520-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.2 | xen | 4.13.1_04-lp152.2.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2020:0985-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.1 | xen | 4.12.3_04-lp151.2.21.1 | openSUSE-SU-2020:0965-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
Show 11 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | xen | 4.13.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | xen | 4.13.1-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | xen | 4.12.3-r2 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | xen | 4.11.4-r0 | — |
Advisories 11
- USN-5617-1 xen vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 27, 2026
- DSA-4723-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:1888-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:1891-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2020:0965-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:1902-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2020:0985-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:1886-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:11520-1 xen-4.15.1_01-1.2 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2020:1889-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2020:1887-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
References
- http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-319.html
- [oss-security] 20200707 Xen Security Advisory 319 v3 (CVE-2020-15563) - inverted code paths in x86 dirty VRAM tracking mailing-list
- DSA-4723 vendor-advisory
- openSUSE-SU-2020:0965 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2020-fbc13516af vendor-advisory
- openSUSE-SU-2020:0985 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2020-76cf2b0f0a vendor-advisory
- GLSA-202007-02 vendor-advisory