Description
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. Out of bounds event channels are available to 32-bit x86 domains. The so called 2-level event channel model imposes different limits on the number of usable event channels for 32-bit x86 domains vs 64-bit or Arm (either bitness) ones. 32-bit x86 domains can use only 1023 channels, due to limited space in their shared (between guest and Xen) information structure, whereas all other domains can use up to 4095 in this model. The recording of the respective limit during domain initialization, however, has occurred at a time where domains are still deemed to be 64-bit ones, prior to actually honoring respective domain properties. At the point domains get recognized as 32-bit ones, the limit didn't get updated accordingly. Due to this misbehavior in Xen, 32-bit domains (including Domain 0) servicing other domains may observe event channel allocations to succeed when they should really fail. Subsequent use of such event channels would then possibly lead to corruption of other parts of the shared info structure. An unprivileged guest may cause another domain, in particular Domain 0, to misbehave. This may lead to a Denial of Service (DoS) for the entire system. All Xen versions from 4.4 onwards are vulnerable. Xen versions 4.3 and earlier are not vulnerable. Only x86 32-bit domains servicing other domains are vulnerable. Arm systems, as well as x86 64-bit domains, are not vulnerable.
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 | 4.14.0+80-gd101b417b7-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xen | 4.14.0+80-gd101b417b7-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xen | 4.14.0+80-gd101b417b7-1 | — |
| Debian 10 | xen | 4.11.4+37-g3263f257ca-1 | DSA-4769-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | xen | 4.11.3+24-g14b62ab3e5-1ubuntu2.3 | USN-5617-1 |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP2 | xen | 4.13.1_08-3.10.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2791-1 |
| SLES 15 SP1 | xen | 4.12.3_08-3.28.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2790-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | xen | 4.12.3_08-3.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2788-1 |
| SLES 12 SP4 | xen | 4.11.4_08-2.36.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2786-1 |
| SLES 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.4_12-3.74.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 |
Show 15 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP2 | xen | 4.7.6_10-43.67.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2822-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | xen | 4.4.4_44-61.55.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:14521-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 | xen | 4.10.4_16-3.41.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2789-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | xen | 4.12.3_08-3.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2788-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP4 | xen | 4.11.4_08-2.36.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2786-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP3 | xen | 4.9.4_12-3.74.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP2 | xen | 4.7.6_10-43.67.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2822-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 | xen | 4.10.4_16-3.41.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2789-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | xen | 4.11.4_08-2.36.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2786-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | xen | 4.9.4_12-3.74.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | xen | 4.11.4_08-2.36.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2786-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | xen | 4.9.4_12-3.74.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | xen | 4.7.6_10-43.67.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2822-1 |
| SUSE HPE Helion OpenStack 8 | xen | 4.9.4_12-3.74.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 5 | xen | 4.9.4_12-3.74.1 | SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 |
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_08-lp152.2.9.1 | openSUSE-SU-2020:1608-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
Show 11 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.13 | xen | 4.14.0-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | xen | 4.13.1-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.10 | xen | 4.12.3-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.9 | xen | 4.11.4-r2 | — |
Advisories 12
- USN-5617-1 xen vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 27, 2026
- DSA-4769-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:2791-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:2787-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:2786-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:14521-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2020:1608-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:2789-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:2822-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2020:2788-1 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-2020:2790-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
References
- https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-342.html
- FEDORA-2020-306b84fd07 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2020-f668e579be vendor-advisory
- DSA-4769 vendor-advisory
- openSUSE-SU-2020:1608 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2020-d46fe34349 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-202011-06 vendor-advisory