QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the e1000 NIC emulation support is vulnerable to an…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 fixed, 7 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the e1000 NIC emulation support is vulnerable to an infinite loop issue. It could occur while processing data via transmit or receive descriptors, provided the initial receive/transmit descriptor head (TDH/RDH) is set outside the allocated descriptor buffer. A privileged user inside guest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU instance resulting in DoS.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2016:2585 Released 2016-11-03 · Red Hat rating Moderateqemu-kvm security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) qemu-img-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-common-10:1.5.3-126.el7 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) qemu-img-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-common-10:1.5.3-126.el7 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) qemu-img-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-common-10:1.5.3-126.el7 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) qemu-img-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-126.el7, qemu-kvm-common-10:1.5.3-126.el7 +1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 (Icehouse) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 6 (Juno) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 7 (Kilo) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8 (Liberty) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2585 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2585 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2585 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2585 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2016-1981
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-ch9p-9c28-4r3p
References
Patch 1
Advisory 7
Sources
- CVE-2016-1981 · CVE Program
- CVE-2016-1981 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-ch9p-9c28-4r3p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2016-1981 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences