CVE-2020-29566
Publication date 15 December 2020
Last updated 26 August 2025
Ubuntu priority
Description
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. When they require assistance from the device model, x86 HVM guests must be temporarily de-scheduled. The device model will signal Xen when it has completed its operation, via an event channel, so that the relevant vCPU is rescheduled. If the device model were to signal Xen without having actually completed the operation, the de-schedule / re-schedule cycle would repeat. If, in addition, Xen is resignalled very quickly, the re-schedule may occur before the de-schedule was fully complete, triggering a shortcut. This potentially repeating process uses ordinary recursive function calls, and thus could result in a stack overflow. A malicious or buggy stubdomain serving a HVM guest can cause Xen to crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) to the entire host. Only x86 systems are affected. Arm systems are not affected. Only x86 stubdomains serving HVM guests can exploit the vulnerability.
Status
| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| xen | 26.04 LTS resolute |
Not affected
|
| 25.10 questing |
Not affected
|
|
| 24.04 LTS noble |
Not affected
|
|
| 22.04 LTS jammy |
Not affected
|
|
| 20.04 LTS focal |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Vulnerable
|
|
Notes
mdeslaur
hypervisor packages are in universe. For issues in the hypervisor, add appropriate tags to each section, ex: Tags_xen: universe-binary
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score |
5.5 · Medium
|
| Attack vector | Local |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | Low |
| User interaction | None |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None |
| Integrity impact | None |
| Availability impact | High |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |