CVE-2020-11669

Host crash via unrestored authority-mask registers

Published Apr 10, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Denial of service in the Linux kernel before 5.2 on POWER9 allows guest OS users to crash the KVM host through an idle transition. The powernv idle path in arch/powerpc/kernel/idle_book3s.S fails to save and restore AMR, UAMOR, and AMOR around powersave, leaving authority-mask state inconsistent. Exploitation requires a POWER9 KVM guest with KUAP enabled and results in a host-system crash rather than data disclosure or modification.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.48%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in the Linux kernel before 5.2 on POWER9 allows guest OS users to crash the KVM host through an idle transition. The powernv idle path in arch/powerpc/kernel/idle_book3s.S fails to save and restore AMR, UAMOR, and AMOR around powersave, leaving authority-mask state inconsistent. Exploitation requires a POWER9 KVM guest with KUAP enabled and results in a host-system crash rather than data disclosure or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-11669
Published
Apr 10, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 10, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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