CVE-2013-2211
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe libxenlight (libxl) toolstack library in Xen 4.0.x, 4.1.x, and 4.2.x uses weak permissions for xenstore keys for paravirtualised and emulated serial console devices, which allows local guest administrators to modify the xenstore value via unspecified vectors.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe libxenlight (libxl) toolstack library in Xen 4.0.x through 4.2.x implements weak permissions on xenstore keys specifically for paravirtualised and emulated serial console devices, allowing local guest administrators to modify xenstore values through unspecified vectors.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 4.2.0= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.1.0= 4.1.1= 4.1.2= 4.1.3= 4.1.4= 4.1.5= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:A/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Xen host versionRun 'xl version' or 'xm version' on the Xen host to obtain the installed Xen version numberAffected if The version is 4.0.0 through 4.2.2 (any of 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.1.0-4.1.5, or 4.2.0-4.2.2)
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Confirm libxl toolstack in useCheck if the domain0 is using libxl (libxenlight) as the toolstack - this is typically the default in Xen 4.1+ and can be verified by examining the toolstack listed in 'xl info' or by checking which toolstack binaries are activeAffected if The system uses libxl as its primary toolstack library
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Identify VMs with console devicesList all running VMs using 'xl list' or 'xm list' and inspect each domain configuration for serial console (pvserial or emulated serial) device definitions, typically found in the VM config file under 'serial' or 'console' settingsAffected if Any VM is configured with a paravirtualised serial console (pvserial) or an emulated serial port console device
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Inspect xenstore permissions on console keysUse 'xenstore-ls' to examine the permissions on console-related xenstore paths (such as /local/domain/<domid>/console) and verify whether guest domain administrators have write access to these keysAffected if The xenstore keys under console paths show weak or overly permissive access controls allowing guest administrators to modify values
You are affected if your Xen host runs version 4.0.x through 4.2.2, uses the libxl toolstack, and has any VMs configured with paravirtualised or emulated serial console devices, with weak permissions on the corresponding xenstore keys.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to Xen 4.3 or later which corrects the permission model, or implement strict xenstore access control policies to prevent guest administrators from modifying console-related xenstore keys.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-2211 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-2211 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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