ID CVE-2020-15565
Summary An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.13.x, allowing x86 Intel HVM guest OS users to cause a host OS denial of service or possibly gain privileges because of insufficient cache write-back under VT-d. When page tables are shared between IOMMU and CPU, changes to them require flushing of both TLBs. Furthermore, IOMMUs may be non-coherent, and hence prior to flushing IOMMU TLBs, a CPU cache also needs writing back to memory after changes were made. Such writing back of cached data was missing in particular when splitting large page mappings into smaller granularity ones. A malicious guest may be able to retain read/write DMA access to frames returned to Xen's free pool, and later reused for another purpose. Host crashes (leading to a Denial of Service) and privilege escalation cannot be ruled out. Xen versions from at least 3.2 onwards are affected. Only x86 Intel systems are affected. x86 AMD as well as Arm systems are not affected. Only x86 HVM guests using hardware assisted paging (HAP), having a passed through PCI device assigned, and having page table sharing enabled can leverage the vulnerability. Note that page table sharing will be enabled (by default) only if Xen considers IOMMU and CPU large page size support compatible.
References
Vulnerable Configurations
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:3.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:3.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.6:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.7.6:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.10.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.11.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.13.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.13.0:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.13.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
    cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:4.13.1:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVSS
Base: 6.1 (as of 03-03-2023 - 15:09)
Impact:
Exploitability:
CWE CWE-400
CAPEC
  • XML Entity Expansion
    An attacker submits an XML document to a target application where the XML document uses nested entity expansion to produce an excessively large output XML. XML allows the definition of macro-like structures that can be used to simplify the creation of complex structures. However, this capability can be abused to create excessive demands on a processor's CPU and memory. A small number of nested expansions can result in an exponential growth in demands on memory.
  • Regular Expression Exponential Blowup
    An adversary may execute an attack on a program that uses a poor Regular Expression(Regex) implementation by choosing input that results in an extreme situation for the Regex. A typical extreme situation operates at exponential time compared to the input size. This is due to most implementations using a Nondeterministic Finite Automaton(NFA) state machine to be built by the Regex algorithm since NFA allows backtracking and thus more complex regular expressions. The algorithm builds a finite state machine and based on the input transitions through all the states until the end of the input is reached. NFA engines may evaluate each character in the input string multiple times during the backtracking. The algorithm tries each path through the NFA one by one until a match is found; the malicious input is crafted so every path is tried which results in a failure. Exploitation of the Regex results in programs hanging or taking a very long time to complete. These attacks may target various layers of the Internet due to regular expressions being used in validation.
  • XML Ping of the Death
    An attacker initiates a resource depletion attack where a large number of small XML messages are delivered at a sufficiently rapid rate to cause a denial of service or crash of the target. Transactions such as repetitive SOAP transactions can deplete resources faster than a simple flooding attack because of the additional resources used by the SOAP protocol and the resources necessary to process SOAP messages. The transactions used are immaterial as long as they cause resource utilization on the target. In other words, this is a normal flooding attack augmented by using messages that will require extra processing on the target.
Access
VectorComplexityAuthentication
LOCAL LOW NONE
Impact
ConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
PARTIAL PARTIAL COMPLETE
cvss-vector via4 AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:C
refmap via4
debian DSA-4723
fedora
  • FEDORA-2020-76cf2b0f0a
  • FEDORA-2020-fbc13516af
gentoo GLSA-202007-02
misc http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-321.html
mlist [oss-security] 20200707 Xen Security Advisory 321 v3 (CVE-2020-15565) - insufficient cache write-back under VT-d
suse
  • openSUSE-SU-2020:0965
  • openSUSE-SU-2020:0985
Last major update 03-03-2023 - 15:09
Published 07-07-2020 - 13:15
Last modified 03-03-2023 - 15:09
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