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LibvirtApplication · Redhat

CVE-2013-6457

MEDIUM · 5.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-01-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.2.0 or later.
See remediation →
54/100
Remediation priority · Moderate
Zero-click

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 · unedited
The libxlDomainGetNumaParameters function in the libxl driver (libxl/libxl_driver.c) in libvirt before 1.2.1 does not properly initialize the nodemap, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (invalid free operation and crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via an inactive domain to the virsh numatune command.

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 confidence

The libxlDomainGetNumaParameters function in libvirt's libxl driver (libxl/libxl_driver.c) fails to properly initialize the nodemap data structure. When an inactive domain is queried via the virsh numatune command, this triggers an invalid free operation on uninitialized memory, causing a denial of service (crash) or potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade libvirt to version 1.2.1 or later which contains the fix for proper nodemap initialization in the libxl driver.

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
LibvirtApplication
Affected:<= 1.2.0= 0.0.1= 0.0.2= 0.0.3= 0.0.4= 0.0.5= 0.0.6= 0.1.0= 0.1.1= 0.1.3= 0.1.4= 0.1.5

CVSS 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
Low
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:A/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed libvirt version
    Run 'rpm -q libvirt' (RHEL/CentOS) or 'dpkg -l libvirt' (Debian/Ubuntu) to find the installed libvirt package version. Alternatively, run 'virsh --version' or 'libvirtd --version'.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.2.0 or earlier, or specifically matches 0.0.1, 0.0.2, 0.0.3, 0.0.4, 0.0.5, 0.0.6, 0.1.0, 0.1.1, 0.1.3, 0.1.4, or 0.1.5.
  2. Confirm libxl driver is in use
    Check if libvirt is managing Xen domains by running 'virsh connect xen:///' or checking /etc/libvirt/libxl.conf exists. Also check 'virsh list --all' and look for domains with active state that may be Xen-based (check domain XML via 'virsh dumpxml <domain>' for '<domain type="xen">').
    Affected if The libxl driver (Xen hypervisor driver) is configured and in use for managing Xen virtual machines.
  3. Identify inactive domains in the environment
    Run 'virsh list --all' to list all domains. Note any domains in 'shut off' or 'paused' state. These are the inactive domains that could trigger the flaw when queried via numatune.
    Affected if There exist domains in an inactive state (shut off, paused, or persistent but not running) that can be queried.
  4. Verify numatune access to inactive domains
    Attempt to query numatune parameters on an inactive domain using 'virsh numatune <inactive_domain>' or 'virsh dominfo <inactive_domain>' to see if the API allows queries on inactive domains. This is the specific trigger condition for the vulnerability.
    Affected if The libvirt API permits numatune queries on inactive domains, which triggers the uninitialized nodemap access.

You are affected if your installed libvirt version is 1.2.0 or earlier, you use the libxl (Xen) driver, and you have the ability to query numatune parameters on inactive domains, which triggers the invalid free on uninitialized memory.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.2.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade libvirt to version 1.2.1 or later which contains the fix for proper nodemap initialization in the libxl driver.

Fix this in Libvirt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-6457 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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