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QemuApplication

CVE-2015-5279

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-09-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.4.0 or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Heap-based buffer overflow in the ne2000_receive function in hw/net/ne2000.c in QEMU before 2.4.0.1 allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (instance crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via vectors related to receiving packets.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in the NE2000 network card emulator's packet reception function in QEMU before 2.4.0.1 allows a malicious guest OS to overflow heap memory, potentially enabling denial of service or arbitrary code execution on the host.

MitigationUpgrade QEMU to version 2.4.0.1 or later to obtain the patched ne2000_receive function.

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
QemuApplication
Affected:<= 2.4.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/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. Check QEMU version installed on the host
    Run 'qemu-system-x86_64 --version' or 'qemu --version' to see the installed QEMU version number
    Affected if Version is 2.4.0 or earlier
  2. Identify VMs using NE2000 NIC emulation
    Review QEMU command lines or VM configuration files for '-net nic,model=ne2k_pci' or 'model=ne2k_isa' parameters that enable the NE2000 emulator
    Affected if Any VM configuration specifies ne2k_pci or ne2k_isa as the NIC model
  3. Check for active ne2000 device in libvirt VMs
    For libvirt-managed VMs, run 'virsh dumpxml <vmname>' and search for '<model type='ne2k_pci'/>' or '<model type='ne2k_isa'/>' within the <interface> section
    Affected if Libvirt XML config contains ne2k_pci or ne2k_isa model type for any interface

The environment is affected if running QEMU version 2.4.0 or earlier AND any VM is configured to use the NE2000 (ne2k_pci or ne2k_isa) network card emulator

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 2.4.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade QEMU to version 2.4.0.1 or later to obtain the patched ne2000_receive function.

Fix this in Qemu Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2015-5279 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data