Description
HVM soft-reset crashes toolstack libxl requires all data structures passed across its public interface to be initialized before use and disposed of afterwards by calling a specific set of functions. Many internal data structures also require this initialize / dispose discipline, but not all of them. When the "soft reset" feature was implemented, the libxl__domain_suspend_state structure didn't require any initialization or disposal. At some point later, an initialization function was introduced for the structure; but the "soft reset" path wasn't refactored to call the initialization function. When a guest nwo initiates a "soft reboot", uninitialized data structure leads to an assert() when later code finds the structure in an unexpected state. The effect of this is to crash the process monitoring the guest. How this affects the system depends on the structure of the toolstack. For xl, this will have no security-relevant effect: every VM has its own independent monitoring process, which contains no state. The domain in question will hang in a crashed state, but can be destroyed by `xl destroy` just like any other non-cooperating domain. For daemon-based toolstacks linked against libxl, such as libvirt, this will crash the toolstack, losing the state of any in-progress operations (localized DoS), and preventing further administrator operations unless the daemon is configured to restart automatically (system-wide DoS). If crashes "leak" resources, then repeated crashes could use up resources, also causing a system-wide DoS.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xen | xen | xen-unstable, 4.12.x – < unspecified, 4.14.x | unspecified |
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 | 4.14.2+25-gb6a8c4f72d-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xen | 4.14.2+25-gb6a8c4f72d-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xen | 4.14.2+25-gb6a8c4f72d-1 | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP2 | xen | 4.13.2_08-3.25.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1028-1 |
| SLES 15 SP1 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
| SLES 12 SP5 | xen | 4.12.4_09-3.39.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1023-1 |
Show 8 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 SP1 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP5 | xen | 4.12.4_09-3.39.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1023-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.0 | xen | 4.13.2_08-3.25.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1028-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP1 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | xen | 4.12.4_08-3.43.3 | SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | xen | 4.15.1_01-1.2 | openSUSE-SU-2024:11520-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
Show 8 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.14 | xen | 4.15.0-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.12 | xen | 4.13.3-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.11 | xen | 4.13.3-r0 | — |
Advisories 4
- SUSE-SU-2021:1028-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2021:1023-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2021:1460-1 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
References
- https://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-368.txt
- GLSA-202107-30 vendor-advisory