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LibvirtApplication · Redhat

CVE-2019-10168

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 virConnectBaselineHypervisorCPU() and virConnectCompareHypervisorCPU() libvirt APIs, 4.x.x before 4.10.1 and 5.x.x before 5.4.1, accept an "emulator" 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

Read-only libvirt clients can specify an arbitrary path via the 'emulator' argument in virConnectBaselineHypervisorCPU() and virConnectCompareHypervisorCPU() APIs, causing the privileged libvirtd daemon to execute a malicious binary with its own system privileges. This is a command injection vulnerability stemming from improper path validation since libvirt v1.2.19.

MitigationUpgrade libvirt to version 4.10.1 or later (4.x branch) or 5.4.1 or later (5.x branch). Additionally, restrict network access to libvirtd and limit which users/groups can access the libvirt API to reduce attack surface.

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. Check installed libvirt version
    Run 'rpm -q libvirt' or 'libvirtd --version' to get the installed version number
    Affected if Version is 4.0.0 through 4.10.0, or 5.0.0 through 5.4.0 (these ranges fall within >=4.0.0/<4.10.1 or >=5.0.0/<5.4.1)
  2. Verify libvirtd daemon is running
    Run 'systemctl status libvirtd' or 'ps aux | grep libvirtd' to confirm the daemon is active
    Affected if libvirtd is running and exposed to untrusted users (daemon must be active for the vulnerability to be exploitable)
  3. Check libvirt socket access controls
    Inspect '/etc/libvirt/libvirtd.conf' for 'listen_tls', 'listen_tcp', and 'auth_unix_rw' settings; check socket permissions with 'ls -la /var/run/libvirt/libvirt-sock'
    Affected if Libvirt API is accessible over TCP or Unix socket permissions allow non-privileged users to connect without restriction
  4. Identify API access sources
    Review 'iptables -L' or firewall rules to determine what network hosts can reach the libvirtd port (typically 16509 for TLS or TCP)
    Affected if Untrusted or anonymous network clients can reach the libvirtd API endpoint
  5. Confirm user/group access to libvirt
    Check '/etc/libvirt/libvirtd.conf' for 'unix_sock_group', 'unix_sock_rw_perms', and any defined access control lists; also review 'virsh uri' for a non-privileged user
    Affected if Untrusted local users or groups have permission to connect to the libvirt daemon

User is affected if running a libvirt version in the 4.0.0-4.10.0 or 5.0.0-5.4.0 range AND the libvirtd API is accessible to untrusted read-only clients who can call the vulnerable CPU baseline/compare APIs.

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 or later (4.x branch) or 5.4.1 or later (5.x branch). Additionally, restrict network access to libvirtd and limit which users/groups can access the libvirt API to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Libvirt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.

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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-2019-10168 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