CVE-2011-1486 in libvirt
Summary
by MITRE
libvirtd in libvirt before 0.9.0 does not use thread-safe error reporting, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) by causing multiple threads to report errors at the same time.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/13/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-1486 affects the libvirtd daemon within the libvirt virtualization management framework version 0.9.0 and earlier. This issue stems from the absence of thread-safe error reporting mechanisms within the libvirt library implementation, creating a critical weakness in concurrent processing environments where multiple threads may simultaneously attempt to report errors. The flaw represents a classic race condition scenario that can be exploited to compromise system stability and availability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the libvirtd daemon's error handling subsystem which lacks proper synchronization mechanisms to protect shared error reporting resources. When multiple threads invoke error reporting functions concurrently, the lack of thread safety causes memory corruption or inconsistent state conditions that ultimately result in daemon crashes. This behavior manifests as a denial of service condition where legitimate system operations are disrupted through deliberate exploitation of the concurrent error reporting flaw. The vulnerability specifically impacts the libvirt daemon's ability to maintain consistent error state information across multiple execution threads.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-1486 extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially compromise the entire virtualization infrastructure managed by libvirt. Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability to repeatedly crash the libvirtd daemon, preventing legitimate users from managing virtual machines and potentially causing cascading failures in virtualized environments. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in production environments where high availability and continuous operation are critical requirements. The lack of proper thread synchronization means that even benign concurrent operations could trigger the vulnerability, making it difficult to predict and prevent.
This vulnerability maps to CWE-362, which specifically addresses race conditions in concurrent programming, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service. The flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices in multi-threaded environments where shared resources are accessed without proper locking mechanisms. Organizations using libvirt versions prior to 0.9.0 should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions, implementing proper thread synchronization in custom code, and monitoring for unusual daemon crash patterns. The recommended remediation strategy involves upgrading to libvirt 0.9.0 or later where proper thread-safe error reporting mechanisms have been implemented to prevent concurrent access conflicts.