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LibvirtApplication · Redhat

CVE-2013-6458

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-01-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.2.0 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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
Multiple race conditions in the (1) virDomainBlockStats, (2) virDomainGetBlockInf, (3) qemuDomainBlockJobImpl, and (4) virDomainGetBlockIoTune functions in libvirt before 1.2.1 do not properly verify that the disk is attached, which allows remote read-only attackers to cause a denial of service (libvirtd crash) via the virDomainDetachDeviceFlags 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

Multiple race conditions in libvirt's block device functions (virDomainBlockStats, virDomainGetBlockInf, qemuDomainBlockJobImpl, virDomainGetBlockIoTune) fail to verify disk attachment status before processing. This allows remote read-only attackers to trigger a libvirtd daemon crash via the virDomainDetachDeviceFlags command, causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade to libvirt 1.2.1 or later where the race conditions are fixed. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict libvirt API access to trusted users and monitor for anomalous device detachment operations.

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
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:A/AC:H/Au:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify libvirt installation and version
    Run 'rpm -q libvirt' (RHEL/CentOS) or 'dpkg -l libvirt-bin' (Debian/Ubuntu) to check if libvirt is installed. Then run 'rpm -q libvirt' or 'libvirtd --version' to obtain the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.2.0 or lower, or specifically 0.0.1 through 0.0.6, 0.1.0, 0.1.1, 0.1.3, 0.1.4, or 0.1.5.
  2. Verify libvirtd daemon status
    Run 'systemctl status libvirtd' (systemd) or 'service libvirtd status' to check if the libvirtd daemon is running.
    Affected if The libvirtd daemon is active and running, enabling the attack surface.
  3. Check libvirtd network accessibility
    Inspect /etc/libvirt/libvirtd.conf and look for 'listen_tls' and 'listen_tcp' settings. Run 'netstat -tlnp | grep libvirtd' or 'ss -tlnp | grep libvirtd' to see which addresses and ports the daemon is listening on.
    Affected if Libvirtd is configured to accept remote connections (listen_tcp=1 or listen_tls=1) and is bound to a network address, exposing the API to remote attackers.
  4. Identify active block devices in use
    Run 'virsh list --all' to see all VMs, then 'virsh domblklist <domain>' for each domain to list attached block devices. The vulnerability affects domains using block devices.
    Affected if Virtual domains with attached block devices exist, providing targets for the race condition attack.

You are affected if your installed libvirt version is 1.2.0 or lower and the libvirtd daemon is accessible over the network with active virtual machines using block devices.

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 to libvirt 1.2.1 or later where the race conditions are fixed. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict libvirt API access to trusted users and monitor for anomalous device detachment operations.

Fix this in Libvirt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2013-6458 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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