CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2020-8834

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

KVM in the Linux kernel on Power8 processors has a conflicting use of HSTATE_HOST_R1 to store r1 state in kvmppc_hv_entry plus in kvmppc_{save,restore}_tm, leading to a stack corruption. Because of this, an attacker with the ability run code in kernel space of a guest VM can cause the host kernel to panic. There were two commits that, according to the reporter, introduced the vulnerability: f024ee098476 ("KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: Pull out TM state save/restore into separate procedures") 87a11bb6a7f7 ("KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: Work around XER[SO] bug in fake suspend mode") The former landed in 4.8, the latter in 4.17. This was fixed without realizing the impact in 4.18 with the following three commits, though it's believed the first is the only strictly necessary commit: 6f597c6b63b6 ("KVM: PPC: Book3S PR: Add guest MSR parameter for kvmppc_save_tm()/kvmppc_restore_tm()") 7b0e827c6970 ("KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: Factor fake-suspend handling out of kvmppc_save/restore_tm") 009c872a8bc4 ("KVM: PPC: Book3S PR: Move kvmppc_save_tm/kvmppc_restore_tm to separate file")

How to fix

Remediation Available
linuxDebian
Fixed in:4.18.6-1CVE-2020-8834
Fixed in:4.18.6-1CVE-2020-8834
Fixed in:4.18.6-1CVE-2020-8834
Fixed in:4.18.6-1CVE-2020-8834
linuxUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97USN-4318-1
linux-hweUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97~16.04.1USN-4318-1
linux-image-4.15.0-96-genericUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97~16.04.1USN-4318-1
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97USN-4318-1
linux-image-4.15.0-96-generic-lpaeUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97~16.04.1USN-4318-1
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97USN-4318-1
linux-image-4.15.0-96-lowlatencyUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97~16.04.1USN-4318-1
Fixed in:4.15.0-96.97USN-4318-1
linux-image-genericUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.87USN-4318-1
linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04Ubuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.104USN-4318-1
linux-image-generic-lpaeUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.87USN-4318-1
linux-image-generic-lpae-hwe-16.04Ubuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.104USN-4318-1
linux-image-lowlatencyUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.87USN-4318-1
linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-16.04Ubuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.104USN-4318-1
linux-image-oemUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.104USN-4318-1
linux-image-virtualUbuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.87USN-4318-1
linux-image-virtual-hwe-16.04Ubuntu
Fixed in:4.15.0.96.104USN-4318-1

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged

Impact

ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

0.34%probability of exploitation in 30 days
26thpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 26% of all known CVEs.

References

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.