Description
Recent x86 CPUs offer functionality named Control-flow Enforcement
Technology (CET). A sub-feature of this are Shadow Stacks (CET-SS).
CET-SS is a hardware feature designed to protect against Return Oriented
Programming attacks. When enabled, traditional stacks holding both data
and return addresses are accompanied by so called "shadow stacks",
holding little more than return addresses. Shadow stacks aren't
writable by normal instructions, and upon function returns their
contents are used to check for possible manipulation of a return address
coming from the traditional stack.
In particular certain memory accesses need intercepting by Xen. In
various cases the necessary emulation involves kind of replaying of
the instruction. Such replaying typically involves filling and then
invoking of a stub. Such a replayed instruction may raise an
exceptions, which is expected and dealt with accordingly.
Unfortunately the interaction of both of the above wasn't right:
Recovery involves removal of a call frame from the (traditional) stack.
The counterpart of this operation for the shadow stack was missing.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xen | Xen | — | — |
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 | 4.17.3+36-g54dacb5c02-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | xen | 4.17.3+36-g54dacb5c02-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | xen | 4.17.5+23-ga4e5191dc0-1 | DSA-5836-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | xen | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | xen | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | xen | No fix yet | — |
| 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 SP5 | xen | 4.17.3_06-150500.3.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:1102-1, SUSE-SU-2024:0830-1 |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLE Micro 5.5 | xen | 4.17.3_06-150500.3.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:1102-1, SUSE-SU-2024:0830-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | xen | 4.16.5_14-150400.4.49.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:0934-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | xen | 4.16.5_14-150400.4.49.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:0934-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.2 | xen | 4.14.6_12-150300.3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:0935-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.1 | xen | 4.14.6_12-150300.3.66.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:0935-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | xen | 4.18.0_06-2.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:13745-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | xen | 4.17.3_06-150500.3.24.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:1102-1, SUSE-SU-2024:0830-1 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.4 | xen | 4.16.5_14-150400.4.49.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:0934-1 |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.3 | xen | 4.16.5_14-150400.4.49.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:0934-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | xen | 4.18.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | xen | 4.18.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | xen | 4.18.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | xen | 4.18.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | xen | 4.18.0-r4 | — |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | xen | 4.18.0-r4 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | xen | 4.17.3-r1 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | xen | 4.16.5-r7 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | xen | 4.16.5-r7 | — |
Advisories 7
- DSA-5836-1 xen - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:0935-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:0830-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:1102-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:13745-1 xen-4.18.0_06-2.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:0934-1 Security update for xen SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- WID-SEC-2024-0494 Xen: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Dec 26, 2024