An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.12.x allowing x86 PV guest OS users to gain host…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.12.x allowing x86 PV guest OS users to gain host OS privileges by leveraging race conditions in pagetable promotion and demotion operations, because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2019-18421. XSA-299 addressed several critical issues in restartable PV type change operations. Despite extensive testing and auditing, some corner cases were missed. A malicious PV guest administrator may be able to escalate their privilege to that of the host. All security-supported versions of Xen are vulnerable. Only x86 systems are affected. Arm systems are not affected. Only x86 PV guests can leverage the vulnerability. x86 HVM and PVH guests cannot leverage the vulnerability. Note that these attacks require very precise timing, which may be difficult to exploit in practice.
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
CPE configurations NVD · 2
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:* | up to 4.12.1 | Vulnerable | Xen |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 31 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
- cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:* Versions up to 4.12.1 Vulnerable ·Xen
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 31 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2019-19580
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5f2h-r2x9-9p3v
References
Sources
- CVE-2019-19580 · CVE Program
- CVE-2019-19580 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5f2h-r2x9-9p3v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2019-19580 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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