Privilege escalation in in Xen

1) Processor optimization removal or modification of security-critical code

EUVDB-ID: #VU88374

Risk: Medium

CVSSv3.1: 7.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-2201

CWE-ID: CWE-1037 - Processor optimization removal or modification of security-critical code

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a malicious guest to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to native branch history injection on x86 systems. A malicious guest can infer the contents of arbitrary host memory, including memory assigned to other guests and compromise the affected system.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Xen: 4.0.0 - 4.18.1

External links

http://lore.kernel.org/all/E1ruEzu-0003pl-M1@xenbits.xenproject.org/T/
http://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2024-2201
http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-456.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated user via the local network (LAN).

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.