Host crash via invalid reference-TSC page mapping
Published Sep 11, 2025 · Updated Nov 4, 2025
NULL pointer dereference in Xen 4.13 and newer allows guest OS users to crash the host through Viridian reference-TSC updates. The reference-TSC update path uses the page mapping without first confirming that the mapping is valid, causing a NULL pointer dereference inside the hypervisor. Exploitation requires an x86 HVM guest with the reference_tsc Viridian extension enabled, and the resulting fault interrupts the entire host.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Xen 4.13 and newer allows guest OS users to crash the host through Viridian reference-TSC updates. The reference-TSC update path uses the page mapping without first confirming that the mapping is valid, causing a NULL pointer dereference inside the hypervisor. Exploitation requires an x86 HVM guest with the reference_tsc Viridian extension enabled, and the resulting fault interrupts the entire host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-27466
- Published
- Sep 11, 2025
- Updated
- Nov 4, 2025
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-395, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 11, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Nov 4, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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What is affected?
Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.
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
- Xen Test Framework XSA-472 TSC reference NULL deref testproof of concept · validated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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