Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2015-8551

The PCI backend driver in Xen, when running on an x86 system and using Linux 3.1.x through 4.3.x as the driver domain, allows local guest administrators to hit BUG conditions and cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and host OS crash) by leveraging a system with access to a passed-through MSI or MSI-X capable physical PCI device and a crafted sequence of XEN_PCI_OP_* operations, aka "Linux pciback missing sanity checks."

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.0, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 8 products from linux, from debian, from opensuse and 5 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2016, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2016-04-13T15:59:05.257

Last Modified

2025-04-12T10:46:40.837

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 6.0 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: NONE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

3.4

Impact Score

6.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-476

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Operating System	linux	linux_kernel	≤ 3.1.10	Yes
Operating System	linux	linux_kernel	≤ 4.3.6	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	7.0	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	8.0	Yes
Operating System	opensuse	opensuse	13.1	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_desktop	11	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_desktop	12	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_real_time_extension	11	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_real_time_extension	12	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_server	11	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_server	11	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_server	12	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_software_development_kit	11	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_software_development_kit	12	Yes
Operating System	suse	linux_enterprise_workstation_extension	12	Yes

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00094.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00045.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00059.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-07/msg00005.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00000.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00044.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00055.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3434 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/79546 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034480 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-157.html Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201604-03 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00094.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00045.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00059.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-07/msg00005.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00000.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00044.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00055.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3434 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/79546 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034480 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-157.html Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201604-03 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For linux's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.