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OpenstackApplication · Redhat

CVE-2016-1714

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.3.0 or later.
See remediation →
86/100
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
The (1) fw_cfg_write and (2) fw_cfg_read functions in hw/nvram/fw_cfg.c in QEMU before 2.4, when built with the Firmware Configuration device emulation support, allow guest OS users with the CAP_SYS_RAWIO privilege to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read or write access and process crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via an invalid current entry value in a firmware configuration.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in QEMU's Firmware Configuration device emulation (hw/nvram/fw_cfg.c). The fw_cfg_write and fw_cfg_read functions fail to properly validate the current entry value, allowing guest OS users with CAP_SYS_RAWIO privilege to trigger out-of-bounds read/write operations, causing denial of service or potentially executing arbitrary code on the host.

MitigationUpgrade QEMU to version 2.4 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, disable the Firmware Configuration device emulation support in the QEMU build configuration.

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
OpenstackApplication
Affected:= 5.0
LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6= 7
QemuApplication
Affected:<= 2.3.0

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 QEMU version
    Run 'rpm -q qemu-kvm' (RHEL/OL) or 'qemu-system-x86_64 --version' to determine the QEMU version installed on the host
    Affected if The installed version is 2.3.0 or earlier, or for Oracle Linux 6/7 or Red Hat OpenStack 5.0 regardless of version number shown (these distributions shipped with vulnerable QEMU)
  2. Check if fw_cfg device is present
    Look for fw_cfg kernel modules or inspect QEMU binary for fw_cfg support using 'strings /usr/bin/qemu-system-* | grep -i fw_cfg' or checking if /sys/firmware/memmap or /sys/firmware/acpi exists (fw_cfg exposes ACPI tables)
    Affected if The fw_cfg device is present and accessible to guest virtual machines
  3. Verify CAP_SYS_RAWIO is available to guests
    Review the libvirt XML configuration (virsh edit <vmname>) or QEMU command line for any device assignments that provide raw I/O privileges, and check if QEMU process runs with elevated capabilities
    Affected if Guest VMs have CAP_SYS_RAWIO or equivalent raw I/O privileges assigned (such as host device passthrough of disk controllers)
  4. Confirm the platform version is affected
    Check the host OS version: 'cat /etc/redhat-release' for Red Hat systems, or 'uname -r' and 'cat /etc/oracle-release' for Oracle Linux
    Affected if Running Red Hat OpenStack 5.0, Oracle Linux 6, or Oracle Linux 7 with the vulnerable QEMU version present

You are affected if you run QEMU version 2.3.0 or earlier, or use Red Hat OpenStack 5.0 or Oracle Linux 6/7, and your guest VMs have access to the fw_cfg device with sufficient privileges (CAP_SYS_RAWIO or raw I/O passthrough).

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 2.3.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade QEMU to version 2.4 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, disable the Firmware Configuration device emulation support in the QEMU build configuration.

Fix this in Openstack Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,464.

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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-2016-1714 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