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Openstack PlatformApplication · Redhat

CVE-2020-10731

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
A flaw was found in the nova_libvirt container provided by the Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16, where it does not have SELinux enabled. This flaw causes sVirt, an important isolation mechanism, to be disabled for all running virtual machines.

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 nova_libvirt container in Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16 lacks SELinux enforcement, which disables sVirt isolation for all virtual machines. This removes a critical security boundary that normally prevents VMs from accessing host resources and other VMs improperly, allowing potential container escape and VM-to-VM attacks.

MitigationEnable SELinux in the nova_libvirt container configuration (either via container runtime settings or by rebuilding the container image with SELinux enforcement) to restore sVirt protection and proper VM isolation.

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
Openstack PlatformApplication
Affected:= 15.0= 16.0= 16.1

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 nova_libvirt container presence
    Run 'podman ps' or 'docker ps' to list running containers and locate the nova_libvirt container by name
    Affected if The nova_libvirt container is running on the host
  2. Check SELinux status on the host
    Run 'getenforce' or check /sys/fs/selinux/enforce to determine if SELinux is enabled at the host level
    Affected if SELinux is disabled (Permissive or Disabled) at the host level, which is a prerequisite for the container-level issue
  3. Inspect container runtime SELinux context
    Run 'podman inspect <container_id>' or 'docker inspect <container_id>' and examine the 'HostConfig' or security options for SELinux-related settings such as 'selinux_label' or whether :ro suffix is missing from mount bindings
    Affected if The container lacks proper SELinux labels or was started with --security-opt flags that disable enforcement (e.g., --security-opt label=disable)
  4. Examine container process SELinux context
    Run 'ps -eZ | grep nova_libvirt' to view the SELinux context of the nova_libvirt process
    Affected if The process runs with an unconfined domain (like system_u:system_r:svirt_lxc_net_t:s0 or system_u:system_r:unconfined_t:s0) rather than a confined sVirt domain
  5. Verify sVirt isolation is absent
    Check if virtual machines started by this nova_libvirt instance have conflicting SELinux contexts or lack dedicated sVirt contexts by examining VM process labels
    Affected if VMs run without sVirt isolation or share SELinux contexts that should be distinct

A user is affected if they run nova_libvirt container in Red Hat OpenStack Platform 15.0, 16.0, or 16.1 with SELinux enforcement disabled in the container, allowing VM escape and cross-VM attacks.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Enable SELinux in the nova_libvirt container configuration (either via container runtime settings or by rebuilding the container image with SELinux enforcement) to restore sVirt protection and proper VM isolation.

Fix this in Openstack Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,520
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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-2020-10731 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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