-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA256 Xen Security Advisory CVE-2021-28687 / XSA-368 version 3 HVM soft-reset crashes toolstack UPDATES IN VERSION 3 ==================== CVE assigned. ISSUE DESCRIPTION ================= libxl requires all data structures passed across its public interface to be initialized before use and disposed of afterwards by calling a specific set of functions. Many internal data structures also require this initialize / dispose discipline, but not all of them. When the "soft reset" feature was implemented, the libxl__domain_suspend_state structure didn't require any initialization or disposal. At some point later, an initialization function was introduced for the structure; but the "soft reset" path wasn't refactored to call the initialization function. When a guest nwo initiates a "soft reboot", uninitialized data structure leads to an assert() when later code finds the structure in an unexpected state. The effect of this is to crash the process monitoring the guest. How this affects the system depends on the structure of the toolstack. For xl, this will have no security-relevant effect: every VM has its own independent monitoring process, which contains no state. The domain in question will hang in a crashed state, but can be destroyed by `xl destroy` just like any other non-cooperating domain. For daemon-based toolstacks linked against libxl, such as libvirt, this will crash the toolstack, losing the state of any in-progress operations (localized DoS), and preventing further administrator operations unless the daemon is configured to restart automatically (system-wide DoS). If crashes "leak" resources, then repeated crashes could use up resources, also causing a system-wide DoS. IMPACT ====== A malicious guest can crash the management daemon, leading to at least a localized, possibly system-wide denial-of-service. VULNERABLE SYSTEMS ================== Only Xen versions 4.12 through 4.14 are affected. Earlier versions are not affected. The issue affects only systems with a guest monitoring process, which is linked against libxl, and which is important other than simply for the functioning of one particular guest. libvirt is one common toolstack affected. Systems using the `xl` command-line tool should generally suffer no security-relevant effects. The xapi toolstack does not currently link against libxl, and so is not affected. MITIGATION ========== Ensuring that any management daemons are restarted automatically after a crash will partially mitigate the issue. CREDITS ======= This issue was discovered by Olaf Hering. RESOLUTION ========== Applying the appropriate attached patch resolves this issue. Note that patches for released versions are generally prepared to apply to the stable branches, and may not apply cleanly to the most recent release tarball. Downstreams are encouraged to update to the tip of the stable branch before applying these patches. xsa368.patch xen-unstable xsa368-4.14.patch Xen 4.14.x xsa368-4.13.patch Xen 4.13.x - Xen 4.12.x $ sha256sum xsa368* e80f33c3ce45372fef7bd91ec71b2b66e557176b79f9771872ce111bfff34150 xsa368.meta b82f2b110514cdf47a2688913ad5af68b01050751d56705a15ddf9a970b6fa0d xsa368.patch 636df70ae5eaf00b50ef0b5ac219a2aeda771c66833fae88e7ee43b18ae889f4 xsa368-4.13.patch 55bbe59c75b69f493e364dfcf6cdbc7db4acd32dbf0b4d2466815b7c1f1823ce xsa368-4.14.patch $ DEPLOYMENT DURING EMBARGO ========================= Deployment of the patches and/or mitigations described above (or others which are substantially similar) is permitted during the embargo, even on public-facing systems with untrusted guest users and administrators. But: Distribution of updated software is prohibited (except to other members of the predisclosure list). Predisclosure list members who wish to deploy significantly different patches and/or mitigations, please contact the Xen Project Security Team. (Note: this during-embargo deployment notice is retained in post-embargo publicly released Xen Project advisories, even though it is then no longer applicable. This is to enable the community to have oversight of the Xen Project Security Team's decisionmaking.) For more information about permissible uses of embargoed information, consult the Xen Project community's agreed Security Policy: http://www.xenproject.org/security-policy.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iQFABAEBCAAqFiEEI+MiLBRfRHX6gGCng/4UyVfoK9kFAmBTXAAMHHBncEB4ZW4u b3JnAAoJEIP+FMlX6CvZdgcH/RTW41tLPh8KHJ+82qefaI2EUBK3nmNnR5hnye3c 9GPP/QB7QdHp+JSIRTAZxOayBQeFEcYSX/5VxDypIiqT02wHS9hDr3jcpOfGLcdt MiN9kB3vYqe353Lask0mN7AX3J5v3wvrYzBRx9ccaYcX/Jcubrx6Jy5laQSYpTUu 4GCeLZQ2tHI8N3ZHiKI7YUyxmn9vKgvFil1gyuk8L5x6npnW4ixdWF0MRyHe7wbS dbZbug0g6bbJbs4CFZbm1CbQjGGOwznfT8z9ppmgPdi+33X+Cimz3wlbpXeJKpZk /nJObobdPGk7ClChvUjntv0oaZ+2zFoUoe3Yc08aa+B29e8= =Dehk -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----