CVE-2015-5278Network attack vector

Guest-triggered hang via unchecked NE2000 ring index

Published Jan 23, 2020 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Infinite loop in QEMU before 2.4.0.1 allows guest OS users to hang an instance by sending crafted packets to an emulated NE2000 NIC. In hw/net/ne2000.c, ne2000_receive lets its local index exceed the 49,152-byte ring buffer, then repeatedly processes zero available bytes instead of leaving the receive loop. A privileged guest user must control packet reception through an enabled NE2000 device; the demonstrated consequence is a QEMU process hang.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability2.34%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Infinite loop in QEMU before 2.4.0.1 allows guest OS users to hang an instance by sending crafted packets to an emulated NE2000 NIC. In hw/net/ne2000.c, ne2000_receive lets its local index exceed the 49,152-byte ring buffer, then repeatedly processes zero available bytes instead of leaving the receive loop. A privileged guest user must control packet reception through an enabled NE2000 device; the demonstrated consequence is a QEMU process hang.

The record

CVE
CVE-2015-5278
Published
Jan 23, 2020
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
QEMU Project
Product
QEMU
Classifications
CWE-835, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 23, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=before 2.4.0.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

QEMU Project · QEMUversion=before 2.4.0.1

Published CVSS scores

6.5CanonicalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.3Red HatAV:A/AC:H/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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