CVE-2024-51566

Host CPU exhaustion via unchecked NVMe queue doorbell

Published Nov 12, 2024 · Updated Nov 3, 2025

Denial of service in FreeBSD bhyve 13.3-RELEASE before p8, 13.4-RELEASE before p2, and 14.1-RELEASE before p6 allows guest OS users to hang the host. The pci_nvme_handle_admin_cmd and pci_nvme_handle_io_cmd loops accept a guest-set submission-queue tail greater than the queue size, so processing never reaches the tail. A guest must control a bhyve VM configured with an emulated NVMe device; a crafted doorbell traps its bhyve process in a loop and overloads a host CPU.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.39%
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 FreeBSD bhyve 13.3-RELEASE before p8, 13.4-RELEASE before p2, and 14.1-RELEASE before p6 allows guest OS users to hang the host. The pci_nvme_handle_admin_cmd and pci_nvme_handle_io_cmd loops accept a guest-set submission-queue tail greater than the queue size, so processing never reaches the tail. A guest must control a bhyve VM configured with an emulated NVMe device; a crafted doorbell traps its bhyve process in a loop and overloads a host CPU.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-51566
Published
Nov 12, 2024
Updated
Nov 3, 2025
Vendor
The FreeBSD Project
Product
FreeBSD
Classifications
CWE-1285, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 12, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Nov 3, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <*
  2. Affected versionversion=13.3-RELEASE <p8
  3. Affected versionversion=13.4-RELEASE <p2
  4. Affected versionversion=14.1-RELEASE <p6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The FreeBSD Project · FreeBSDversion=0 <*; version=13.3-RELEASE <p8; version=13.4-RELEASE <p2; version=14.1-RELEASE <p6

Published CVSS scores

6.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L

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

CWE-1285Improper Validation of Specified Index, Position, or Offset in Input
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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