Infinite loop in QEMU
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
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
A stack overflow via an infinite recursion vulnerability was found in the eepro100 i8255x device emulator of QEMU. This issue occurs while processing controller commands due to a DMA reentry issue. This flaw allows a guest user or process to consume CPU cycles or crash the QEMU process on the host, resulting in a denial of service. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | QEMU | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- QEMU Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Advanced Virtualization
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 10 (Newton)
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 13 (Queens)
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-20255
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-v6w7-gq3g-fwvm
References
Patch 2
Sources
- CVE-2021-20255 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-20255 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-v6w7-gq3g-fwvm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-20255 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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