CVE-2020-29569
Description
An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 5.10.1, as used with Xen through 4.14.x. The Linux kernel PV block backend expects the kernel thread handler to reset ring->xenblkd to NULL when stopped. However, the handler may not have time to run if the frontend quickly toggles between the states connect and disconnect. As a consequence, the block backend may re-use a pointer after it was freed. A misbehaving guest can trigger a dom0 crash by continuously connecting / disconnecting a block frontend. Privilege escalation and information leaks cannot be ruled out. This only affects systems with a Linux blkback.
Predictions
Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.
Mitigations
No mitigations published for this CVE yet.
The vendor-content worker queues fetches as references arrive (check back in a few minutes). Or — if you've already worked around this in production — publish your fix to the community-verified tier.
✚ Propose a mitigation on Community → Mitigations published via the community go through AI scoring + 2 human reviewers + 7-day silent objection window before landing here withsource_tier=community-verified.
OS impact
SUSE Affected 1 release
| Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| — | Affected | — |
Debian Fixed 5 releases
| Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| trixie | Fixed | 5.9.15-1 |
| sid | Fixed | 5.9.15-1 |
| forky | Fixed | 5.9.15-1 |
| bullseye | Fixed | 5.9.15-1 |
| bookworm | Fixed | 5.9.15-1 |
References
Community-verified mitigations for this CVE will appear above when contributors publish them.
Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.