Host-memory disclosure via branch-history injection
Published Dec 19, 2024 · Updated Jan 9, 2025
Native Branch History Injection in affected Xen releases on Intel x86 allows guest OS users to infer arbitrary host memory. Shared branch-history predictor state lets attacker-controlled userspace steer Xen's transient execution through disclosure gadgets and recover secrets through a side channel. Exploitation requires susceptible Intel hardware and suitable gadgets; the disclosed impact is read-only exposure of host memory, including memory assigned to other guests.
Summary
What happened
Native Branch History Injection in affected Xen releases on Intel x86 allows guest OS users to infer arbitrary host memory. Shared branch-history predictor state lets attacker-controlled userspace steer Xen's transient execution through disclosure gadgets and recover secrets through a side channel. Exploitation requires susceptible Intel hardware and suitable gadgets; the disclosed impact is read-only exposure of host memory, including memory assigned to other guests.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-2201
- Published
- Dec 19, 2024
- Updated
- Jan 9, 2025
- Vendor
- Xen Project
- Product
- Xen Hypervisor
- Classifications
- CWE-1423, T1005
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 19, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 9, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=See advisory "x86: Native Branch History Injection"
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- InSpectre Gadget Native BHI exploit codefunctional · demonstrated
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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