CVE-2020-25602

What it is

An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. An x86 PV guest can trigger a host OS crash when handling guest access to MSR_MISC_ENABLE. When a guest accesses certain Model Specific Registers, Xen first reads the value from hardware to use as the basis for auditing the guest access. For the MISC_ENABLE MSR, which is an Intel specific MSR, this MSR read is performed without error handling for a #GP fault, which is the consequence of trying to read this MSR on non-Intel hardware. A buggy or malicious PV guest administrator can crash Xen, resulting in a host Denial of Service. Only x86 systems are vulnerable. ARM systems are not vulnerable. Only Xen versions 4.11 and onwards are vulnerable. 4.10 and earlier are not vulnerable. Only x86 systems that do not implement the MISC_ENABLE MSR (0x1a0) are vulnerable. AMD and Hygon systems do not implement this MSR and are vulnerable. Intel systems do implement this MSR and are not vulnerable. Other manufacturers have not been checked. Only x86 PV guests can exploit the vulnerability. x86 HVM/PVH guests cannot exploit the vulnerability.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with an admin-level account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.3% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2020-09-23 22:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 03:06 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.3% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 6.0 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2020-09-23 22:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 03:06 UTC

Exploit probability

0.3% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-755

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Xen ≤ 4.14.0
• Fedoraproject Fedora 31
• Fedoraproject Fedora 32
• Fedoraproject Fedora 33
• Debian Linux 10.0
• Opensuse Leap 15.2

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 6.0

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

High

User interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2020-25602.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2020-25602. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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