Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2017-14318


An issue was discovered in Xen 4.5.x through 4.9.x. The function `__gnttab_cache_flush` handles GNTTABOP_cache_flush grant table operations. It checks to see if the calling domain is the owner of the page that is to be operated on. If it is not, the owner's grant table is checked to see if a grant mapping to the calling domain exists for the page in question. However, the function does not check to see if the owning domain actually has a grant table or not. Some special domains, such as `DOMID_XEN`, `DOMID_IO` and `DOMID_COW` are created without grant tables. Hence, if __gnttab_cache_flush operates on a page owned by these special domains, it will attempt to dereference a NULL pointer in the domain struct.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from xen organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2017, 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

2017-09-12T15:29:00.300

Last Modified

2025-04-20T01:37:25.860

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 6.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

  • Access Vector: LOCAL
  • Access Complexity: LOW
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: NONE
  • Integrity Impact: NONE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

6.9

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-476

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System xen xen 4.5.0 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.5.1 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.5.2 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.5.3 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.5.5 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.6.0 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.6.1 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.6.3 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.6.4 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.6.5 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.6.6 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.7.0 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.7.1 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.7.2 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.7.3 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.8.0 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.8.1 Yes
Operating System xen xen 4.9.0 Yes

References

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 xen'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.