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LibvirtApplication · Redhat

CVE-2019-10167

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.10.1 / 5.4.1 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 virConnectGetDomainCapabilities() libvirt API, versions 4.x.x before 4.10.1 and 5.x.x before 5.4.1, accepts an "emulatorbin" argument to specify the program providing emulation for a domain. Since v1.2.19, libvirt will execute that program to probe the domain's capabilities. Read-only clients could specify an arbitrary path for this argument, causing libvirtd to execute a crafted executable with its own privileges.

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 virConnectGetDomainCapabilities() libvirt API accepts an 'emulatorbin' argument specifying the emulation program path. Since v1.2.19, libvirt executes this program to probe domain capabilities. Read-only clients can specify an arbitrary path, causing the privileged libvirtd daemon to execute a crafted executable with its own privileges, enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade libvirt to version 4.10.1/5.4.1 or later to patch the arbitrary code execution vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict or disable read-only client access to the libvirt API.

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:>= 4.0.0, < 4.10.1>= 5.0.0, < 5.4.1
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Server AusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux Server TusOperating system
Affected:= 7.6
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 the installed libvirt version
    Run 'rpm -q libvirt' or 'virsh --version' to retrieve the installed libvirt package version
    Affected if The version falls within 4.0.0 to 4.10.0 or 5.0.0 to 5.4.0 (for Red Hat packages)
  2. Verify the libvirtd daemon is running
    Run 'systemctl status libvirtd' or check for the libvirtd process with 'ps aux | grep libvirtd'
    Affected if The daemon is active and accepting API connections
  3. Check who can access the libvirt API socket
    Inspect the libvirt socket permissions with 'ls -la /var/run/libvirt/libvirt-sock' and review /etc/libvirt/libvirtd.conf for auth settings
    Affected if Read-only or unauthenticated clients have access to the socket
  4. Confirm if the GetDomainCapabilities API is exposed
    Attempt a test connection using 'virsh connect' or check if the API is accessible via 'virsh -r capabilities' (read-only mode)
    Affected if Read-only connections are permitted and the API responds

You are affected if libvirt version is within the vulnerable range AND read-only or unauthenticated clients can access the libvirt API socket to call virConnectGetDomainCapabilities().

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 4.10.1 / 5.4.1 or later
Fixed in 4.10.15.4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade libvirt to version 4.10.1/5.4.1 or later to patch the arbitrary code execution vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict or disable read-only client access to the libvirt API.

Fix this in Libvirt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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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-2019-10167 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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