CVE-2013-2230 in libvirt
Summary
by MITRE
The qemu driver (qemu/qemu_driver.c) in libvirt before 1.1.1 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via unspecified vectors involving "multiple events registration."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/08/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2230 resides within the libvirt virtualization management library, specifically in the qemu driver component located at qemu/qemu_driver.c. This flaw affects versions prior to 1.1.1 and represents a significant security concern for virtualized environments where libvirt serves as the primary hypervisor management interface. The issue manifests as a denial of service condition that can be exploited by remotely authenticated attackers, undermining the stability and availability of virtualization infrastructure. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of event registration mechanisms within the qemu driver, creating a scenario where malicious actors can trigger daemon crashes through unspecified vectors related to multiple event registrations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves the improper management of event registration processes within libvirt's qemu driver implementation. When multiple events are registered simultaneously or in rapid succession, the driver fails to properly handle these registrations, leading to memory corruption or resource exhaustion conditions that ultimately cause the libvirt daemon to crash. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of improper resource management as classified by CWE-404, where the system fails to properly manage event registration resources, and can also be categorized as a resource leak or memory corruption issue under CWE-772. The flaw demonstrates a classic example of how event handling mechanisms can become points of failure when not properly validated and sanitized.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a substantial risk to virtualization administrators and cloud service providers who rely on libvirt for managing virtual machine operations. The remote authenticated nature of the exploit means that attackers who have gained access to the system through other means can leverage this vulnerability to disrupt services, potentially causing cascading failures in virtualized environments where multiple VMs depend on the same libvirt daemon. The daemon crash resulting from this vulnerability can lead to complete service disruption, requiring manual intervention to restart the libvirt service and potentially causing data loss or service interruptions for all virtual machines managed by that daemon. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability aspect of the CIA triad and can be mapped to the ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be used as part of a broader attack strategy to compromise virtualization infrastructure. When combined with other vulnerabilities or used as a stepping stone in multi-stage attacks, the daemon crash can provide attackers with opportunities to escalate privileges or gain additional system access. The vulnerability particularly affects environments where libvirt is used in conjunction with other management tools or where automated provisioning systems rely on stable libvirt daemon operations. Organizations running virtualized infrastructure without the patched version of libvirt are at risk of experiencing unavailability of their virtualization services, which can have significant business impact and potentially violate service level agreements.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-2230 primarily involve upgrading to libvirt version 1.1.1 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the event registration handling issues. System administrators should also implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual patterns of event registration that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit the number of authenticated users who can interact with the libvirt daemon. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should include checks for outdated libvirt installations, and organizations should maintain updated patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of security fixes. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of proper event handling in system components and the need for thorough testing of resource management mechanisms in virtualization software.