top-level shadow reference dropped too early for 64-bit PV guests
CVE-2023-34322

7.8HIGH

Key Information:

Vendor

Xen Project
Status
Xen
Vendor
CVE Published:
5 January 2024

What is CVE-2023-34322?

The vulnerability in the Xen Hypervisor relates to improper handling of shadow page tables during memory management operations. Specifically, when running paravirtualized (PV) guests in shadow paging mode, the hypervisor may inadvertently tear down shadow page tables, including the shadow root page table currently in use. This could potentially expose the underlying guest's memory to unauthorized access, as the time frame during which precautions are in effect is insufficient to guarantee safety. As a result, malicious actors may exploit this vulnerability to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of the virtualized environment.

Affected Version(s)

Xen consult Xen advisory XSA-438

References

https://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-438.html

CVSS V3.1

Score:
7.8
Severity:
HIGH
Confidentiality:
High
Integrity:
High
Availability:
High
Attack Vector:
Local
Attack Complexity:
Low
Privileges Required:
Low
User Interaction:
None
Scope:
Unchanged

Timeline

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

Credit

This issue was discovered by Tim Deegan, and Jan Beulich of SUSE.
.